Free lined luncheon meat for barbel

I've read articles and seen on TV a method of using freelined meat for barbel. The basic technique is that a fairly large hook , size 6 or even 4, is weighted with lead wire and then a big piece of bacon grill (or whatever ) is put on the hook, and cast to barbel visible in the swim. The bait trundles slowly along the bottom, and with a bit of luck you'll catch a few barbel. The absence of a leger weight a few feet from the meat makes the bait behave more naturally.

I've tried it and have caught a barbel on it, but it does seem a method that's limited in its use. It mainly depends on seeing barbel close in, in shallow water, and then casting to them - and in the waters I fish I don't often see barbel.

Have any forum members used this method ? Is there any advice they could give me on it ?

Ray Walton is an expert on this style of fishing.Have a look here,there's a bit more to it than just fishing shallow stretches and you don't need to see the fish.

http://www.barbelshack.biz/roving%20-%20intro.htm

Yup - with Fred on his point about seeing the barbel. I have tried it a few times, and therefore by no means anywhere near understanding the full spectrum of this method, however you can fish it blind and have to feel for the takes (which I found were not the rod bending lunges you may be used too).

I was using mono and it certainly made me think that braid would be better, in terms of feeling the take, however I never really followed it up by trying.

........and according to Ray Walton as per Freds link above, he says braid.

[Bryan Baron 2]

Braid is definetly a better option than mono as you can feel the bait bouncing down the river. Affraid i can't offer much more advice as only tried it once or twice myself.

[jp]

As has already been said it's not just a method for when you can see them. I fish this method fairly regularly and don't usually bother with it if I can see them, I might try it once it's dark when you can't watch them pick up a hookbait.

It's an ideal method for a first trip to a water or if you just want to cover a lot of river and only really limited to how far upstream you can cast.

Think about how a fly angler works the whole river by casting gradually longer (or shorter) and then taking a couple of paces along the bank and doing it again; rolling meat can bring you into contact with fish that may not have been prepared to move to a baited swim.

Have fished it a few times and it works for chub as well. Works best I think casting upstream as the bait trundles a bit more naturally than if a weight was attached.

Thank you all for your advice - the barbel shack site is good - I'd never heard of it.