How to deal with barbel bites with Tommy Pickering
There is no bigger thrill than catching big fish such as barbel on the feeder when on a river.
As you would expect from such lumps, the bites can be savage and if you present your rig incorrectly you could be snapped up. Feeding a bow into your line provides a cushion that helps stop such disasters occurring, and this week I show you how to do it.
1) Cast out slightly downstream, and once the feeder has hit the water, keep the rod high until you feel the feeder make contact with the river bed. With practice this is easy to detect.
2) Once the feeder has landed, allow 4m-5m of line to peel off the reel, keeping the bail-arm open. Line will run downstream with the flow, and once you close the bail-arm the bow will tighten up.
3) If the rod-tip starts to bounce, release another metre of line to make the bow slightly bigger. If it continues to happen, a slightly heavier feeder is needed to hold bottom properly.
4) Bites usually develop as a small tap followed by a drop-back. The feeder is dislodged and the fish is hooked. Without a bow the rod tip would be ripped round and the fish could be lost.
