I had a crack at barbel fishing today in quite fast water, with a soft pellet on the hook and baiting up with smaller pellets. I've never done this before, and I soon realised I didn't know how to get the feed down to the fish. The smaller (2mm?) pellets worked OK in the feeder I use for hemp, but the (4mm?) ones had me stumped. In the end I put them in (too small) PVA bags, but I wasn't sure the best way to fix these to the line. In fact I ended up putting stones in the PVA bags and sellotaping them up before throwing them into the swim - which I can't imagine is the kosher method. I'd be interested to know how regular barbel anglers get pellets down to the fish.

Hi,

on the weir we fish, we use pellet bands to hold the pellet onto the hook and rarely add loosefeed. Hooklengths are 6- 8 ins tied to a swivel, with a beaded running lead above

Using, occasionally, PVA bags we drop the hook into the bag, thread it out through the bottom, then fill the bag and tie/stick it off around the line. Then add the pellet to the hook.

The banded pellet on the hook is then below the bag and offers some casting support - this is not a rig for horizon casting but will go a fair distance.

Best to date 10lbs! - not me unfortunately!

Len

[ 30. August 2005, 01:06 AM: Message edited by: ljk ]

Depending on how far your casting flying tinca , have u tried a bait dropper?

i've often wondered this, but wouldn't using a baitdropper limit how far out you could feed? baitdroppers usually fly open when you try to cast too far. i regularly use them in small backstreams for barbel(which accounted for my pb )but again, usually i have the same problem as flying tench when i'm tackling weirpools :confused:

[ 30. August 2005, 11:34 AM: Message edited by: fantasticfisherman ]

John,

PVA bags, or if fishing close in, use a bait dropper. Try hair rigging a hard pellet, use a bait band, and cut a groove in the pellet with a bit of old hacksaw blade, helps it to stay on.

Or you could try a method feeder?

Paul

Moisten the feed pellets and wait until they are ballable, they sink like bricks and breakdown into small particles of food releasing an attractive scent trail.

The Flying Tench,you could use a cage feeder and
plug one end with g/b then fill with pellets then
plug the open end then put main line down by the weight and cover with g/b(sticky/stodgy)then you
cover it all in a light coating of light g/b then
press in some hemp & micro pellets and shape into
a tear drop shape as best you can , leaving your
hooklength (12-18"long)hanging below this and you
give it a under arm castout.

the outer coating of g/b hemp/micro pellets are
first to be washed of into the swim the stodgyer
g/b takes a little longer to breakdown then the
inner pellets explode out of the cage feeder.
if you carn't find a big cage feeder then try a
inline method feeder without the elastic bit

you will need stout tackle,10-12lb line,1.75lb to
2lb barbel/carp rods your favourite hooklink and
some 10mm-14mm halibut hooker pellets.

there you have it "The Ilson Bomb Blast"

good plan but sounds like a lot of preparation for each cast. i like the suggestion of using pva bags but is that practical for use with a quivertip?

you would be struggling using a pva bag with anything other than the strongest of quiver tips

Simply unclip the snap link that holds my lead, insert the pva funnel web filled with pellet and cast out.