Specimen Fishing tips | Keep pellets on your hair with this great trick!

Using small pellets which match your loosefeed is a great tactic for catching big barbel and chub on the rivers right now.

However, it can be a bit of a fiddly way of fishing – but not if you follow my advice! 

I’ve found the best way to keep small pellets on a hair rig is to attach them lasso-style with a grinner knot.

This method works for all but the smallest of pellets, and is a really easy and reliable way of ensuring that a pellet remains on a hair rig – there’s no need for drilling or using hair stops, and it is both quick and easy!

A pellet attached like this will stay on for a number of casts, and often you can recast the same pellet even after landing a fish.

In fact, I once caught five barbel on the same 12mm pellet!

1) Slip a pellet into a loop tied from 15lb Korum Micro Braid using a five-turn grinner knot.

2) Tighten the loop so that it grips the pellet in place. Then trim off the tag end of the braid.

3) Knotless-knot on a hook to match the size of the pellet. It should sit 2mm below the bend.

4) Change the pellet by easing the pellet out of the loop, opened up with a fingernail or your forceps.