boilies

Hi Everyone. I have been carp fishing for many years now but recently got fed up with the whole carp scene. As a result i'm turning my attention to chub and barble fishing. I have found some good looking spots to try but want to make sure i'm using a reliable bait. which boilies do you guys find reliable. Also would introducing hemp and pellets be a good idea in the winter.

I've found The Source, Quest Rahja Spice and Trigga all excellent fish catchers. One thing I would say though is that if you're going to use boilies in conjunction with pellets, then flavour really doesn't matter much in my opinion. The critical success factor is often to do something just a little bit different from everyone else - not by using a different flavour, but by changing your presentation slightly.

i have used hemp in the winter and had some success but i often wonder if it gets washed away when the water level is up i use monster crab boilies in the winter because of the strong smell weather it makes any difference i dont know but it gives me a bit of confidence.

thanks for the replys. been talking to a guy today who said that he has had barble whilst using small live baits whilst after perch. how predatory are barble? are they fluke catches?

You are probably ok using beds of hemp and/or pellet for a few weeks yet, but when it starts to get colder I find it's usually best to rely on a feeder or a PVA bag on their own, with a few glugged pellets in. I am talking about daytime expeditions, by the way.

In my view there is no need to worry too much about the uses of oils in rivers, as everything is always on the move. It is not helpful to use too much bait in the winter in any case. In a lake everything stays where it's thrown, so the situation is very different.

On warmer days in the winter I take a couple of pints of hemp with me, and mix it with dry crumb or minced bread which makes a nice smelly cloud without overfeeding the fish. Dont overlook breadflake as a bait in cold weather... good luck, but dont forget the carp entirely!

I am reliably informed that gudgeon are a great Barbel bait at the start of the season. I think this is to do with recovering from spawning and the high protein levels. But I am sure someone cleverer than me might know the real reason.

cantcatchem said:

Hi Everyone. I have been carp fishing for many years now but recently got fed up with the whole carp scene. As a result i'm turning my attention to chub and barble fishing. I have found some good looking spots to try but want to make sure i'm using a reliable bait. which boilies do you guys find reliable. Also would introducing hemp and pellets be a good idea in the winter.

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I've been using Dynamite Baits Halibut Pellet 15mm boilies for my barbelling on the Ribble over the last 4 years. Normally my rig is a free-running blockend feeder (Kamasan Black Cap) filled with 3mm pellets, brand immaterial,and the boilie hair rigged on a size 8 Kamasan Animal hook.Dunk the filled feeder just before casting and the pellets stay in on the cast.
This works fine in Summer (well not so great this year - I've really struggled but I understand that I'm not the only one) and in mild Winter conditions. In cooler conditions I'll swap to maggots as the Ribble small fish seem to disappear in Winter and I always have some Pepperoni sausage with me as a change bait. I find that this never catches a load of fish but may well get you a chub or barbel when they're ignoring the boilie.