Pop-up fools wary barbel - Carl Hill

“This season I set myself the target of bettering my barbel best of 13lb 4oz, and with the tidal Trent being in great form for big fish, I decided that’d be the best place for me to do it.
“During the closed season I walked miles of river with just a rod and a lead to plumb about, trying to find likely barbel-holding areas, and eventually I fished my first session on June 16.
“That trip proved to be the start of a long, arduous campaign and I endured 12 blanks in a row. I attributed the lack of success to the barbel not venturing far from the weir, which required exclusive access, but I preferred quieter areas.
“I wasn’t happy with my rig either, so I had a rethink. I’d been fishing a 16mm boilie and fluoro hooklink, and while this kept the mitten crabs and small fry at bay, I wanted something that had more attraction and looked a bit more natural.
“That’s why I swapped the boilie for a balanced hookbait made from a pop-up dumbell wrapped in a fast-leak paste. The idea was that the bait would waft around on the bottom. The fluoro hooklink was far too stiff for this approach, so that was ditched for a soft braid which would help pin everything down.
“At this point the second lockdown was looming and instead of travelling to the tidal, I explored local waters and settled on a stretch of the middle Trent that I knew quite well. The river had just had a decent flush through and the levels seemed perfect, so I headed to a swim that held cover in the form of a few snags.
“After baiting just beyond the snags with three bait droppers of hemp and maggot, a PVA sausage of mixed pellets was attached to my hooklink and I wrapped paste around the pop-up before casting the rig to the spot.

The improved rig included a braided hooklink, PVA sausage and a pop-up boilie

“I was field-testing a new paste flavour and I’m sceptical of new baits until I catch on them, but I needn’t have worried. Shortly after dark I had two bites from barbel of 8lb 12oz and 16lb 10oz!
“I thought the latter was a carp as it kited downstream and across the river, but the tell-tale ‘nodding’ sensation told me it was a big barbel.
“It was the fish I was after, and a great reward for all the blanks I’d suffered.”