Both the feeder and PVA bag have their place in barbel fishing and are brilliant tactics at delivering loosefeed close to your hookbait.
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Personally, I think that a PVA bag and lead arrangement creates much less disturbance than a feeder. The feeder does work for the bigger barbel, though, if you want to slowly build a swim by constantly casting and introducing bait. This could well be your best tactic on stretches where you know the fish aren't far away and are expecting lots of bites, but you need to be busy with it and regularly cast to achieve the desired results. You can't be lazy when feeder fishing.
When fishing for barbel on rivers like the Trent, I prefer a more static 'bait and wait' approach. I like to put a fairly big bed of bait out at the start, enough to draw and hold a substantial group of fish in the swim for a period of time. I then have one cast with a bag on and leave the bait out until I get a take.
After each fish, I’ll top up with two bait droppers of feed to keep any remaining shoal members interested and feeding. I feel the disturbance from me landing a fish pushes them away from the baited area, and now is the time to feed the swim again.
Having both methods in your armoury and picking the right one for conditions will help you catch barbel from rivers all over the country.
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