Difficult Barbel Advice...

[Tony O'Dell 2]

Am currently fishing two seperate stretches for Barbel, both of which are regarded as being slow/hard. Am facing a couple of problems on each, and would be grateful for some advice
1)
Stretch 1, i am currently fishing in mouth of weir. Problem being is getting any loose feed onto the bottom. I have sued a bait dropper from the top of the weir, but how long would any bait that i have deposited on the bottom stay there?. The dropper lands on the bottom where i put it ( i used braid and a spod rod and feed it down till it touches the bottom ) I have also used the largest Drennan Flat feeder which hold the bottom okay. The second rod is nailed to the bottom using a 2 1/2 oz lead.
Would i be better of using PVA bags ( small ones ) I wolud assume using small bags of pellets made with funnel web pva would be the way to go, but i have no experience of using PVA, so any advice would be excellent ( what rig to use, how to attach bags to hook etc )
Bait wise halibut pellet and boilie are both accepted, hence the desire to put of reasnoble amounts of pellets at regular intervals.
2) The second stretch was one i fished about five years ago with high degree's of success. Now it seems things have changed. One angler who seemed very genuine put forward the idea that the barbel were shying off beds of hemp, which seemed to attract vast shoals of dace and gudgeon. Has anyone seen this before?. Would meat be a bad idea on a hard fished stretch of water during the daytime?. Do barbel shy away from Boilies like they do from meat during the daytime?
Again i think PVA might be the way forward....i am worried that using the bait dropper might scare and barbel in the area, and they might not feed again in that area for quite some time.
By the way..this is the Ouse we are talking about...so it is a bit different to other rivers...or its it...the barbel have still got to feed havent they !

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

Are you talking about The Great Ouse or The Yorkshire Ouse Tony?

To use PVA Funnel Web is dead easy. You use it in conjunction with the plastic tube you get with it. Follow the instructions.

Getting bait into a weir can be easy. You must get it right under the sill of the weir where the current can actually reverse in flow.

Halibut pellets, or even better, Halibut boilies are two of the best baits ever for barbel. They love them.

I used to use hemp years ago. Then my catches started dropping off. These days I use small fast sinking halibut pellets when laying down a bed of feed.

I have caught many barbel in the daytime on boilies and pellets. Especially when the river is up and coloured. Dont forget meat under these conditions either? When the river is low and clear, I still have great faith in maggots or casters.

 

[Tony O'Dell 2]

Great Ouse Ron.....
I have found a similar thing with my catches regarding hemp...last season was slow when using hemp..this season no fish at all...from pegs where i had took three/four fish in one session ( and that is quite a few for the stretches i fish )
Halibut boilies do seem to be the next option for me..pellet doesn't last long enough on the hook due to the attentions of chub/dace/gudgeon..paste also being a waste of time

 

[Andy Thatcher 1]

If we are talking Gt Ouse although I have been playing with feeders lately it would be strange for me to cast without a small pva bag every cast.

Single bait and no feed does catch but not for me so I prefer some freebies near by bait unless I have prebaitied.

If you are fishing the same areas regularly why not put in some bait when you leave ? Does not have to be kilo's and kilo's but a couple of hand fulls going in regularly will help your chances no end.

 

[Tony O'Dell 2]

Cheers Andy....have you found so far that the feeders have had an adverse effect on your fishing?
Nice picture of Del's fish on your website.

 

[GrahamM]

The current along the bottom is usually much slower than the surface current on weirpools, even below the sill.

I would go with a heavy feeder filled with soaked pellets and stiffened sufficiently with a method mix. Leave out the hemp if there is any doubt. Halibut pellets and similarly flavoured boilies will work anywhere.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

Had one last night Graham on Halibut Pellet Boilie that had been steeped in Nam Pla for 4 weeks. !0lbs 5ozs, still not a patch on your 14lber, but good enough for me.

I also fished under a weirpool edge, very fast water, but I still fish a feeder with seeds or sometimes it has some micro pellets (Swim Stim with Betaine, is it?). Even if soem get washed further dwon it can;t be that far and once barbel start Hoovering around for food they cover quite an area.

 

[GrahamM]

10.5 is good enough for me as well Jeff. Well done mate.

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

It's good enough for any real angler Jeff.

Well done. I am chuffed with 7 pounders these days. Look out for my picture feature on the Tidal Trent in a week or two.

 

[Tony O'Dell 2]

With that mix would you be using an open end feeder Graham?

 

[Baz]

Why would hallibut boilies be better than hallibut pellets?

 

[Tony O'Dell 2]

Halibut pellets get ripped to pieces on certain stetches of the Ouse...the riverbed is black with small dace/gudgeon...you cant be certain a pellet bait is on the hook/hair for more than five minutes

 

[Wolfman Woody]

Dunno Baz. I have used 22mm halibut pellets and had no joy at all, but Roger Wyndham-Barnes uses them and great success. I just like the softness of the boilie from Dynamite Baits and they take glugging and stuff like that.

Try them and try extra Halibut Oil or even Pure Hemp Oil from sensas. Anything for an edge.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

Must admit, that fish blew another myth apart that started on the carp forum. A lot of people criticised Daiwa Infinity Duo line, some even said it was c**p. That fish was caught on the 8lb stuff and from the fast water!

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

A lot easier to hair rig too without all that drilling.

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

"Glugging"!!!!

What a word.

Who invented that?

What's wrong with dipping or dunking?

 

[jason fisher]

it aint a net so you can't dip it and it's not a biscuit so you can't dunk it.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Ron,

The only Glug I know of is that wonderful Scandinavian (Christmas) drink made with Port wine, Vodka, Cloves, Cinnamon and Raisins.

I'll bet it tastes a lot better than the stuff that Jeff uses, but probably won't catch any fish, sadly.
But then again, after 5 or 6 glasses who cares about fishing, right?

Next time you are down in deepest Wiltshire I'll make up a jug of real Glug.

 

[Baz]

Thanks Jeff /Ron,
I will give it a try.

 

[Baz]

By the way,
Can you suggest a recipe for hallibut boilies, including the base mix, and any other additives?