Nine Top Barbel Hook and Feed Bait Combinations

6 March, 2018 | Match & Coarse | Tips | Articles

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Top barbel fishing bait hookbait and feed combinations.

We all have a few favorite hookbaits but using the right feed is also an important factor when targeting barbel. Our team of top anglers have put together the best barbel fishing hookbait and feed combos for you to try. Scroll down to see nine top barbel baits you simply have to try…

 

1. Marine Halibut Pellets and Pre-Drilled Marine Halibut Pellets

Arguably one of the best all-round baits for barbel, halibut pellets break down slowly in the flow but start releasing their flavours into the water almost immediately….

making it easy for barbel to home in on. Try fishing the larger pre-drilled sizes such as 14mm, 16mm and 21mm on a hair rig or band and feeding the smaller 3mm to 8mm in a feeder or as loose feed.

TOP TIP: try wrapping some Marine Halibut Paste around your hookbait for added attraction.

2. Big Fish River Groundbait and Busters

Brand new for the 2018/19 river fishing season the Big Fish River range features two classic flavours – Cheese & Garlic and Shrimp and Krill. The ultra-smelly groundbait are ideal for ‘carbelling’ on venues such as the Trent or Severn and can be balled in by hand or used in a feeder. With the oily, extra attractive hookbaits to match they are a killer combo and designed with barbel in mind…

TIP: Wrap your hookbait in the matching paste to create extra attraction

 

3. Frenzied Hemp and Snails

The beauty with this one is that the combo already comes ready to fish in tin! There are two sizes available, Original and Specimen which contains larger snails which are perfect for threading onto the hair for barbel. Anglers like Mark Perkins have caught many a Trent barbel fishing a few on the hair with the hemp in a maggot feeder.

4. Meaty Marine Pellets and Meaty Fish Bites

Barbel love meat and pellets so why not combine the two? You can fish the larger sizes on the hook using a band and feed the smaller sizes but we think they work really well with our Meaty Fish Bites which come in two flavours, Krill and Original and are soft enough be slipped straight on the hook or threaded onto a hair but tough enough not to come off in the flow or on the cast. This combo is a great choice for trotting a float for barbel.

 

 

5. Crave Boilies and Crave Tuff Paste

A real big fish winner this one. Adrian Eves will be the first to confirm this after he caught a colossal 19lb 10oz specimen in early 2018 using this exact combo which he chose due to its shellfish ingredients which include a tuna and anchovy meal and shrimp paste. Adrian fed a few likely looking spots with some 15mm boilies and then fished a 15mm version wrapped in the matching Tuff Paste on the hair.

 

6. CompleX-T pellets and CompleX-T boilies

Terry Hearn’s fishmeal based boilie is just at home on the river as it is on carp lakes and barbel anglers have already started cottoning on. The new pellets are great for loosefeeding, putting into PVA bags which you can pre-tie at home or using in a feeder. The smaller size boilies such as 12mm can also be added to the feed and the larger 20mm versions can be fished on the hook and you can even wrap some of the new CompleX-T Tuff Paste around the hookbait..

TOP TIP: Try flavouring your pellets in CompleX-T rehydration liquid the night before feeding your swim

7. Robin Red Pellets and Robin Red Paste

The legendary Robin Red ® is also available as a hugely popular range of high protein, barbel loving, spicy flavoured pellets which come in sizes from 2mm, 4mm and 6mm undrilled and 8mm to 20mm pre-drilled for using on hair rigs. Feeding the smaller versions and fishing a hair-rigged larger version wrapped in the matching Robin Red paste is a sucker for barbel.

 

8. Spicy Shrimp and Prawn Boilies and Spicy Shrimp Liquid

A very under-rated but very effective barbel bait for bigger fish on all rivers. A fishmeal based boilie which has a krill and shrimp essence that barbel find hard to resist. Open up a bag and have a smell, you’ll see what we mean!! Try flavouring the boilies at least 24 hours before fishing with the matching liquid for extra attraction, particularly when the river is up and coloured.

9. The Source Groundbait and Source Boilies

Terry Hearn’s original recipe is just as good for barbel as it is for carp and a favourite of many river anglers. The Source groundbait is a great way of feeding on larger rivers such as the Wye and Trent particularly when there is a large head of barbel. Mix it up fairly damp and ball around 6-10 balls into your swim. Add matching Source pellets to get the barbel routing around for the bait. You can then fish the Source boilies over the top. The smaller size boilies are ideal and you can fish more than one on the hair.