 I have always used coffin leads held in place by a couple of rubber stops about 2-3 feet above the hooklink. I guess my question is has anbody found a more efficent way of doing this ? Has anbody tried back leading off the rod top carp style ?? cheers chris
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 I use flying backleads occasionaly with either a rubber stop or sliding stopknot up the line to stop it coming up too far. I've never tried it off the rod top. I mostly fish rivers and rarely find a benefit to backleading at all it's mostly on still waters that I do it.
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Thanks paul, Have used the flying back leads instead of coffins too just end up with the coffin leads cos they work out cheaper and do the same job for me !! was just wondering bout the idea of back leading of the rod top. Think i will perhaps have to experiment. Chris
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 I think I would want to know why u want to do this? What benefit are you trying to gain? I have used this occasionally if there is loads of crud, or if fishing across a strong flow. But really use for lake fishing to keep the line down and out of the way (and then I tend to use slack line rather than back leads).
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I jst wonder how a line cuttin through the water effects really cagey barbel. Im sure we have all experinced line bite when barbel fishing, and as u say there is the avoiding the crud factor !! DO you think it could harm fish ??
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If you mean hitting the mainline as it sits in the water then no I don't Chris. Think about all the weeds, reeds, underwater branches and rocks fish come onto contact with every day.
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 On the Avon we have a boat problem in some areas so lines need to be sunk. A bomb on a paper clip slides down the line and backleads OK, and if snagged the wire will straighten out. Cheap n cheerful!
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 It's true barbel are hitting and touching different objects all day long.....but normaly they can see them, where as in general I think they spook off mainline because they are hitting into something they cant always see. I think if back leading is done the right way then it will defo improve your catch rate! Just to touch on dropping a back lead off the rod tip........I would not really advise it as it's putting a hell of a lot of mainline down on to the river bed...giving you more chance of snaging and see-saw effect on the rough bottom.
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 Very sensible post by the pie eater . Graham
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Cheers Graham  Hope your well!
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Rob, I agree with what you say, back leading is definiately a way of improving your presentation and thus increasing your catch rate. So how do you do it ? do you use a similar system to me ?? Cheers Chris
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 I went to a talk by Stuart Morgan and Guy Rob a few months ago in brum, and Stuart was saying that (on the Lower Severn in particular) backleads were as good as useless. Unless a very (very) heavy backlead was used, a normal backlead would be lifted off the bottom in even the slowest of flows. He has seen this with his own eyes, while diving (and filming) the new DVD. The best presentation in his opinion, was "up-streaming", as this "pinned" the mainline down on the deck. Steve www.caravanonthesevern.co.uk
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Hi Rob, Steve and Chris. I don't backlead, but it's really because I am happy that the fish can see my braid and accept it as "being there", as against bumping into it unawares and spooking. Steve is correct IMO in the view that upstreaming will push down the line, so if using a mono/fluro it will be pinned to the bottom and less chance of fish coming upstream and touching it. One of my pals advocates a simple bullet lead on the line with a simple stop. Graham
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Hi all I too was at that meeting Steve, and agree with the heavey backlead set-up. To start with for me the main danger in using a very light back lead is that it is sat up in mid water if you fish a tight line and also if you fish slack it's going all over the place and can end up past your main lead! Really it's all down to your own needs and tactics......but by the very nature of my fishing it's great. I fish the Dove in the main and also the Teme amongs other rivers. Nearly all of my fishing is done down the side or consists of just a gentle under arm plop, in this way with the heavey backlead I can almost lay the rig out on the bottom as I need........It' would be a total nightmare and would fail if I had to overhead cast with this rig!! Chris The heavey backlead set up that I use is one of the in-line carp leads with a single float stop holding it in place, I would choose my swim, intoduce the terminal tackle and then back wind quite a way back from the swim to my chosen seating area on the bank. There may be just a very slight amount of tension in the line at the most and the rod tip is just touching the surface of the water. Hope this helps
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On small rivers such as the Wensum, which is where I mostly fish, backleads are a real asset. By and large I'm fishing very close in and can usually watch the fish feeding on my bait. When you have a group of fish feeding on a bed of particles its not unusual for a fish to bump into a straight line and spook. Often in these circumstances the number of line bites you experience is virtually non-stop and this does eventually start alarming the fish. Also its not rare to have a fish eventually get itself wrapped up in the line and half pull the rod off the rests, occasionally even foul hooking itself in the bargain. Now this really does spook the swim, so I use a back lead all the time apart from in flood conditions. The first time I did so I had a trio of one 15 and two 13's, and I was converted.
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My style of fishing! as Chris says it's a reel asset!!
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Great posts gents thankyou very much it is appreciated !!
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 I remember reading some years ago an article written by Jim McDonald in the Angling Star about watching barbel on the Hants Avon. In it he said that they would slowly drift sideways downstream of a baited area until they touched any line, they then became agitated before moving away. He also wrote about barbel moving stones/large bits of gravel over a baited hook, then cleaning up the free offerings. Just how true/accurate the article was I don't know but it does make a case for back-leading Trust your not catching too many chub from your bits of the Wensum Chris 
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i have an idear instead of back leading why not make your hook length longer i find this is the best way of catching barbel that spook when they touch your main line. if you think about it when your hooklength is in the flowing water the hooklength will be pulled straight from the power of the flow so if you are using a long hooklegth like i do sometimes three or four feet when the fish takes an interest in your bait it will be no where near your lead and mainline i understand there will be different ways for different rivers but i find this works well on big rivers such as the trent
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"if you think about it when your hooklength is in the flowing water the hooklength will be pulled straight from the power of the flow so if you are using a long hooklegth like i do sometimes three or four feet when the fish takes an interest in your bait it will be no where near your lead and mainline"
I dont always think its as cut and dry that the 4ft rig straightens itself out neatly in water, nature just aint like that...... other disadvantages for me would be a danger of deep hooking also information from the hook bait not been transfered up to the rod tip quick enough, in other words registering bites. If you have ever witnessed barbel "egging" in the swim then this is more than enough reason for me to backlead, as they sometime swim way up past the main lead and beyond when displaying this behavior. Just a few thoughts from obsevation ................
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