Hair rig length

gosgos1 · Oct 15, 2012

I've got back into barbel fishing after a good few years break,and I would like to ask members what length of hair they use ...ie..from a 15mm boilie (the distance between the hook and the bait) About ten years ago I fished with the hook resting on the bait,after watching "Up close and personal " video,with Guy Robb and Stuart Morgan.This summer I've had success with 2no 8mm Sonu baits hali hookers with about a 4mm gap between hook and bait.
I've had success with both ,but would like to find out is there a perfect length for barbel fishing.Any comments will be appreciated an will make my fishing more enjoyable on the river Swale this winter.

barbelboi · Oct 15, 2012

At present I mainly use two pellets glued to the hair - the length of the hair between the hook and pellet/s is about equal to the size of pellet used.
Jerry
PS Welcome to FM

sam vimes · Oct 15, 2012

Depends on the day. One day the bait will be tight to the bend of the hook, the next it might be a few centimetres or somewhere in between. However, I'd tend towards the longer end of the spectrum for barbel. I'd only shorten it if I were getting finicky takes or good knocks where the bait gets robbed without a hook up. If that happens I'd also generally expect chub to be the culprits.

agamemnon · Oct 15, 2012

i dont fish for barbel but i do use hair rigs for tench, bream and carp and ive found the length of hair to be as important as the length of hooklink. my average hair is 1/2 inch longer than the bait though with dodgy bites ive shortened this to have the bait touching the hook or leave over an inch free its trial and error

Keith M · Oct 15, 2012

I usually have a gap of anywhere between 1mm and 1cm from the bend of the hook and don't really think it makes much difference to the number of Barbel I catch or don't catch. the only time I use a longer hair is when I am getting nuisance Chub picking up my bait in their lips, then I use longer hairs on purpose to give more chance of pulling the bait from the chubs lips as the Chub moves off.
I think the ratio between the hook size and the bait size is more important than the length of the hair.

Sean Meeghan · Oct 15, 2012

I've never found the hair length to matter greatly when barbel fishing and I now set the hair length to approx bait diameter plus 6mm. This makes fitting the hair stop easy and if I'm using a drilled pellet I can use a pellet stop without the hair being too long. A mate of mind tends to use longer hairs than me but I've not noticed any difference in the numbers of barbel we catch.

The bad one · Oct 15, 2012

Don't think it matters but if I'm using Combi baits, pellet on the hair and a grain of corn on the hook. Then the pellet will be be hard against the back of the hook. With Bread flake Combi the hair is long 1 cm+.

Unlike Kieth M no chub to me is a nuisance not when they're likely to be 5 lb+

Never use a hair off the bend, always from the back of the hook.

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) · Oct 15, 2012

I'm with Phil on this one.

A long hair may equal a missed bite from a big chub.

For me chub and barbel go hand in hand. The only time I fish out and out for chub is when its too cold for barbel.

Anyone else use 12lb mainline for chub fishing?

Simon K · Oct 15, 2012

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) said:
I'm with Phil on this one.

A long hair may equal a missed bite from a big chub.

For me chub and barbel go hand in hand. The only time I fish out and out for chub is when its too cold for barbel.

Anyone else use 12lb mainline for chub fishing?

Not in my experience. A long hair is more likely to equal a missed bite from a barbel. I agree on "chub and barbel go hand in hand"..............and I mostly keep my hairs pretty short for both. 2 or 3mm.

I may use long on occasion just for big chub and only when I fish areas that barbel don't tend to frequent.
At least 2 of my 7lb+ chub came to long hairs.

And I use 10lb mainline for both chub and barbel.

chav professor · Oct 15, 2012

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) said:
I'm with Phil on this one.

A long hair may equal a missed bite from a big chub.

For me chub and barbel go hand in hand. The only time I fish out and out for chub is when its too cold for barbel.

Anyone else use 12lb mainline for chub fishing?

Of course I do!

Fish can see line, but do they know what it is? I bet they can see 4lb line as well as 15lb!

laguna · Oct 15, 2012

chav professor said:
Of course I do! Fish can see line, but do they know what it is? I bet they can see 4lb line as well as 15lb!

Even fluorocarbon?
I think fc is only 'invisible' in gin clear water, i'd wager fish can see it lite up like a forelit beacon against a murky backdrop!

barbelboi · Oct 15, 2012

IMO barbel that I've observed over the years do not seem to spook at line that they can see, it's just becomes part of the weed, debris, snags that they like to inhabit and they are all brushing against the fish as it moves about. FC tends to spook them which is why I'd never use it as a main line and usually prefer sink braid as a hook length depending on the swim.
Jerry

gosgos1 · Oct 15, 2012

Thanks gents for your knowledgable advice,I'll put this to practice this weekend.(Unless we get heavy rain again!!)

nicepix · Oct 16, 2012

laguna said:
Even fluorocarbon?
I think fc is only 'invisible' in gin clear water, i'd wager fish can see it lite up like a forelit beacon against a murky backdrop!

I don't think any line is invisible and when a bait is nailed hard against the bottom any line of similar colour to the environment is less likely to be noticed.

As for hair length; I don't think that it is too important. Sometimes with soft boilies I'll have the hook bend embedded in the boilie. Other times such as with big pieces of meat I'll have a 1 cm gap between bait and hook bend. With large large pellets I'll also allow plenty of room for the hook to avoid the bait.

johnnyfby · Oct 16, 2012

I tend to find better hookings with a longer hair. It also depends how the Barbel are feeding too, if you have a lot in front of you competing for the bait then a short hair is better. My reason for this is the fish are feeding out of the norm and snatching the bait instead of sucking it up steadily. If its maybe one or 2 bites you are looking for then an inch to 3/4 will suffice.
If bream are mixing in then longer with maybe a double boilie/pellet rigged. Sometimes its just gut feeling....what to do. A good solution is to use extender stops, the best I have found are the Avid carp ones you get 3 sizes which should be adequate.

Jon

Albert Watkinson · Nov 10, 2012

I always have 5mm from the bait.never had probs with this method
Albert

laguna · Nov 11, 2012

The rivers I normally fish are fast(ish) and I'm always concious of the flow affecting my presentation, fluttering my bait on a long hair - too far away from the hook isn't a risk I'm prepared to make.

No surprise with the different answers given here and I guess, like all things in fishing, there is no right or wrong way/answer. I've never set out to target barbel but I have inevitably still caught them when chub fishing using really short hairs.

Graham Elliott 1 · Nov 12, 2012

I fish mine tight to the bend...but more important is the hook size in relation to the bait used. Barbel are generally browsers rather than sucking in baits.

I know a couple of people using long hairs frequently hook fish outside of the mouth.

I always like to have my hook point slightly proud of the bait being used or at least a decent size when using big lumps of meat etc.

Graham

Hair rig length

gosgos1

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barbelboi

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sam vimes

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agamemnon

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Keith M

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Sean Meeghan

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The bad one

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Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)

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Simon K

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chav professor

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laguna

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barbelboi

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gosgos1

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nicepix

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johnnyfby

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Albert Watkinson

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laguna

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Graham Elliott 1

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