Barbel on the Wye

[Ronnie]

Hi all, I'm going to the Wye in a couple of weeks for a few days Barbel Fishing, I wondered if anyone had tried Chilli Hemp rather than ordinary Hemp, as I thought it might be worth a go. Has any one any experience of this? is it good or bad? or is it likely to put the fish off rather than attract them?
All views will be appreciated

 

[benny samways]

Everything loves the chilli hemp mate, try shredding some small bits of meat in with it (5mm cubes or maggot sized:wh), great combo.

Wash your hands after handling the stuff though, it stings if you get any in your eyes and is very difficult to get out down the river....trust me..doh!

ATB

 

[ken more]

If you fancy trying it Ronnie go ahead, i don't think it will put fish off. I've used it in the past and have not noticed any difference and, having a chilli flavour, it might just work to your benefit.

 

[caelan]

not used it my self but will be reading all the comments on here
now to get the edge on me mates if it works I will keep it under
me hat martin/caelan

 

[geoffmaynard]

I think the idea of a 'bed of hemp' is good but on a lot of water the effort is wasted - it's swept off downstream in a powerful current much of the time unless you are able to baitdropper lots of it into position. I think heavy pellet is a bait much more likely to stay in place. I like the idea of chilli though - chilli and garlic always seem to improve a bait.

 

[Ronnie]

Thanks for the replies Guys, I must admit I was expecting a few more comments on this, but there again perhaps there are those among us who don't like to share their edges when they go fishing.

 

[jasonbean1]

You don't need bait edges on the wye, you need to decide what species your after, know where they are, keep ane eye on the river levels before you go and fish with the right tackle for the job.....bait that's the easy bit!

 

[cg74]

You don't need bait edges on the wye, you need to decide what species your after, know where they are, keep ane eye on the river levels before you go and fish with the right tackle for the job.....bait that's the easy bit!

Too true:
Low and clear = maggots.
High and coloured = pellets and paste.

 

[sam vimes]

Thanks for the replies Guys, I must admit I was expecting a few more comments on this, but there again perhaps there are those among us who don't like to share their edges when they go fishing.

I suspect the fact that you were specific about the river concerned will have instantly limited the potential replies.

 

[jasonbean1]

Ronnie, they'll be 3 of us going to the Wye/lugg for the last week of the season. the last thing we'll worry about is bait...it's all about priorities

1. pub near digs
2. take away near digs
3. weather i.e. temp
4. water levels
5. right descision on the day for the right venue
6. choose species to target barbel, chub or grayling
7. right tackle for chosen species swim
8. decide how to fish the swim
9. bait.....1. maggots(wye/lugg) 2. pellets(with paste/Wye/lugg) 3. worms(lugg). 4. meat(lugg)
10. must remember to take this list!

 

[theartist]

I suspect the fact that you were specific about the river concerned will have instantly limited the potential replies.

That would be a shame, I would hope it's more down to the importance of swim selection and condiditons as a couple of posters have already said. Doubt if it's down to bait secrecy (baitcrecy?) as lets face it chili hemp wont take the place apart but it's worth trying although what gives an edge on one stretch may not work on another as it's a big old river. Just don'put too much feed in especially if the weather stays cold or there's snow melting in them thar hills.

 

[Jim Crosskey 2]

So Jason, I'm not the only person who dreams of finding a pub with cheap accommodation, an in-house chinese takeaway and a free-to-residents stretch of the wye or severn in the back garden then? One of these days...

I organise a trip for myself and three friends on a regular basis, we generally do the wye in the Autumn.... with a very similar check-list. The biggest problem i tend to find doing that is in order to make sure everyone can make it (juggling work and family) we generally plan it several months in advance, which means you can't be sure of what the rivers going to be like when you get there.... so this last year, in September - the river was on its bones; the year before, we arrived to find it rising fast, by the morning of the second day there were whole trees and dead sheep floating towards monmouth at a good clip. So hopefully this year it will be just right.

Back to the question asked... i can honestly say i've never really used hemp on the wye, and don't really see a reason to start. You need to fish to conditions, if it's up and coloured i'd be inclined to try meat or boilie or pellet; if it's down and clear, then maggots and more maggots. I never like going to the wye without a plan "b" either.... small bag of sardines for pike, or a liquidised loaf of bread for chub, or a float rod and pin to put the maggots to slightly different use. To be fair, if you're going for a few days - you could easily find the river in a completely different state each day, from low to flooded and back again.

I know that doesn't help much in terms of whether you should use chili hemp or not.... so I'm going to finish by saying use it for sure... but don't forget plan "b"

 

[onemorelastcast]

No need for any special additives in baits for the Wye, just yet. The river contains large shoals of Barbel that are constantly on the move, you will normally see just two feeding patterns in a day, the inbetween bits can be long and tedious.

What you need is a bucket full of damp pellets and keep feeding when they are in the vicinity to maximise you catch potential, they will find you, you don't have to search for them.

The inbetween times can be filled with sleeping eating of as I do just taking in the magnificent scenery.

It's not hard .

 

[geoffmaynard]

So Jason, I'm not the only person who dreams of finding a pub with cheap accommodation, an in-house chinese takeaway and a free-to-residents stretch of the wye or severn in the back garden then? One of these days...

Chaps: the Warren fishery at Hay is a cheap DT £10 day. You can walk there from any one of a dozen B&Bs in Hay town (they call it a town, to me it's a village). I live in this beautiful place. Within seven minutes walk of my front door I can get a drink in 14 different establishments, there's a good chinese and an indian take-away, a tapas bar, plus plus plus... On a tuesday night the Globe has an open mic night which attracts some outstanding talent. The place is heaving with bookshops and curio/antique shops to keep a female happy for days, should you with to bring a lady.
Brewardine and the Red Lion is 10 mins drive downstream, my stretch is 4 mins drive upstream.
At the risk of sounding like an advert, why look elsewhere?

 

[sam vimes]

That would be a shame, I would hope it's more down to the importance of swim selection and condiditons as a couple of posters have already said. Doubt if it's down to bait secrecy (baitcrecy?) as lets face it chili hemp wont take the place apart but it's worth trying although what gives an edge on one stretch may not work on another as it's a big old river. Just don'put too much feed in especially if the weather stays cold or there's snow melting in them thar hills.

If you meant to quote me, I think you got the wrong end of the stick. What I meant was that the thread title is "Barbel on the Wye". I, and I suspect a few others, know nowt about the Wye, so couldn't really comment. If the thread title was something along the lines of a much more general "Chilli Hemp for barbel", an awful lot more people could comment and the OP may have got a greater response. Fortunately, it's been my experience that there aren't too many people that are overly precious about bait. Can be a different story when it comes to locations though. I trust that explains a little better, I'm not suggesting that I, or anybody else, won't comment because they are being secret squirrels.

 

[black kettle]

£10 cheap for a day ticket!?? You can get a season ticket up here for that.

Regards,

BK

 

[dorsetandchub]

Worth it for a double figure barbel though, surely...??

 

[Ronnie]

Wow, now were getting some good replies, and it makes you start to think a bit more. I generally book a few weeks or months in advance as others do so the river/temperature etc. is a lottery, but I do generally put a bed of hemp and pellets down (normal hemp) and believe this draws the fish in providing there is not too much water going through.
I will certainly take on board some of the comments posted and will confirm when I return whether or not I had a worthwhile trip.

 

[theartist]

If you meant to quote me, I think you got the wrong end of the stick. What I meant was that the thread title is "Barbel on the Wye". I, and I suspect a few others, know nowt about the Wye, so couldn't really comment. If the thread title was something along the lines of a much more general "Chilli Hemp for barbel", an awful lot more people could comment and the OP may have got a greater response. Fortunately, it's been my experience that there aren't too many people that are overly precious about bait. Can be a different story when it comes to locations though. I trust that explains a little better, I'm not suggesting that I, or anybody else, won't comment because they are being secret squirrels.

I see where your'e coming from Sam, totally read your post the wrong way, which was unintended.

Rob

 

[cg74]

Thanks for the replies Guys, I must admit I was expecting a few more comments on this, but there again perhaps there are those among us who don't like to share their edges when they go fishing.

"Edges" - Find the fish, it's that basic!
Notice I said "basic" and not easy....

If I was to pinpoint one slight bait edge it'd be wrapping pellets and boilies in a hi-attract paste.

Roughly my paste recipe is:
1/3 crushed elips pellets
1/3 crushed halibut pellets
1/3 crushed boilies
Some chilli, SAC Juice (shrimp) and salmon oil.
Mix with water.

As for the original question. I'm sure adding chilli to hemp will at worst have no effect.

Last night I sorted out my kit for a week on the Wye and Lugg. My approach is going to be simple, some might say limiting but it's based on my past experiences.
I'm going with three rods; 2 barbel rods, 1 set up with a quiver tip the second as a back up in case of a breakage and/or if the rivers are in full spate. The third is a 1lb test twin tip and I'll have it set up with its quiver tip section for chub on the Lugg.

Baits (as said before) will be pellets, boilies, paste, maggots plus maybe worms and bread.
I always used to carry a tin of meat as an emergency back up, it'd sat in my bag for about 4 or 5 years, until some git stole it.....




...I now carry a small can of corn, it seems to be less appealing to sticky fingers!