Cheers guys, all noted and taken onboard. However, I can'talways see the barbel as the Teme is often highly coloured. I am just hoping for someone to tell me that a hairrig of a certain length will catch barbel and big chub.
Different species, different tactics, tackle, rivers, styles and opinions...
Opinions will vary as will experiences, however I do know that some barbel's use a hair length twice the size of the bait works for them, hook sizes vary from 12 and bigger while chub anglers will generally use no hair or short as possible as chub will "mouth" the bait and hold it in their lips - hook size must match the size of the bait 16-2/0.
Easier to find out for yourself and keep records considering all possible variables... If you catch more chub than barbel on a given day with a short hair, you could lengthen it but I bet by doing so you will lose some chub... the only thing I can think of to catch both on the same rig (a compromise) would be to use a large hook with an equally large (same size) bait and an equally sized long hair length.
You could also try hair rigging several small cubes of meat to present a hinged effect instead of one large sized bait, good luck.
Have you been experiencing hook pulls?
What's your current setup?
Trouble is there's no right or wrong answer here, it could be down to many things not just hair length