River Fishing Tips | Cage or solid feeder for barbel? - Dai Gribble

As well as carrying feeders of different sizes and weights, it pays to have different types in your tackle box so you can vary the rate at which your feed is released into your swim.

Cage and solid feeders both have uses in barbel fishing

A cage feeder will empty much quicker than a traditional, solid-style feeder with just a few holes. So, If bites are coming soon after casting, opt for a cage feeder so that the bait is deposited rapidly int the swim, otherwise the feeder will still be full while you are playing a fish and will end up emptying its contents across the river.

Cage feeder barbel fishing rig

If bites are slow in coming, however, it pays to use a solid, slower-release feeder to ensure bait is trickling past your hookbait and down to the fish for much longer.

A cracking River Severn barbel

River Fishing Tips | How to catch more barbel in the day - Phil Smith

There are a few things you can do to boost your daytime catch rate, starting with targeting waters that don’t allow night fishing.

A fantastic conditioned double caught in daylight hours

It may seem strange, but on venues where night fishing is allowed, it appears to encourage the fish to feed better in darkness, and less during the day. 

I’d also recommend smaller baits, the obvious ones being maggots or casters. Bait droppering with hemp and caster, say, 10 droppers of each, then leaving it without casting in for an hour will get results.

Casters are a deadly bait in the daytime

For hookbaits, I favour hair-rigged casters or maggots mounted directly on to a size 12 hook. Some of my best specimens have fallen to these tactics.

Fake casters are a good hook bait to avoid small fish