Combi-Rig

Heres a rig i use Regularly for my barbel Fishing in Different Conditions.

The Combi-rig 

Consist of a Size 12 Korda Curve Shank 

15lb Korda Super Natural

12lb Korda IQ Fluro 

Quite a Simple Set up Usually for me its 4' of Fluro & 2-4" of Super Natural 

If you've never used the Super natural well it does exactly what it say on the Tin

Looks brilliant in the water and its a rig i have allot of confidence in so i don't really need to change anything only time i do is when the rivers Coloured & is carrying a few Extra Feet.

To start the Rig take the 4" of Super Natural And Whip a Knot-less Knot with the Curve Shank ( Instead of Going through the Back of the Hook pass the Tag end Through the Front ) I Believe this gives the hook better Turning Ability.I don't tie a Hoop in the hair as You'll see why but thats up to you on bait Choice but i also use the same approach when using Boilies.

Once you've whipped the Knot-less Knot take the Super natural and the IQ and Tie a Albright Knot ( Connecting the Braid-Fluro ) and trim the tag end i usually Blob the Fluro to prevent Slipping And Braid to prevent Fraying

Now as For Bait all i usually Use is Sonubaits Elliptical  or Lodgebaits Shrimp Boilies & Dumbbells  using Chris's shrimp paste or my own paste ( Not sharing that one Though ) or if im on a Stalking session Dampened pellets Moulded around the Hook bait.

Heres Some Pictures 

Combi-Rig

A Braided Hair Using the Super Natural ( My Choice for Flood Water Fishing )

The Sonubaits pellets have a rounded edge so i trim them square to get a better hold on the hair

Now Trimmed Pellet

The Bait Now Glued to the Hair

Now ready to be Dropped in under arm into a holding Swim 

Leads & Feeders

As you might of seen previously i started making my own Feeders from hair Curlers ( The previous Post Homemade Feeders ) 

Well I've started again making Leads And Feeders.

I've bought a few more moulds Dumpy Dice,TearDrop/Pear, And a heavier Feeder Strap mould ( Dead Cow ) 

Getting quite addicted to it now and enjoy seeing the results there really easy to make i use size 8 Big eye swivels on the Feeders and a 45mm Boom i also spray the feeders with plasti-kote Black/Green

Dumpy Dice 2 oz, 2.5oz & 3 oz

Feeders 25mm & 35mm x 65mm 

Weights 1.5oz, 2oz, 2.5oz, 4oz,5oz, & 6oz 

Pears 1oz,2oz,3oz & 4oz

The tricky bit is melting the lead and the most important bit is to have some protection, Safety Glasses,Gloves and away form all sources of moisture or you'll soon be in A&E 

I find it best to cut the lead up into small pieces using some tin snips as it melts allot Quicker i'd also say its a good idea to clean the lead with a wire brush before melting as you seam to get allot of Scum on the top of the Molten lead.

The Right tools for the Job

Lead Cut into Small Pieces

 I also made a Jig to hold the Mould Securely

The Jig

 

Wire Brushed to remove any Grim

Scum on top of the Molten Lead  use a spoon to pull it back before Pouring 

Hers a Few of the Feeders & Leads I've been Making 

Feeders

A Mixture of 25mm & 35mm Feeders

Dumpy Dice & Pears

If Youd Like any Feeders Or Leads Please Get in Touch

Friday Feeling

Decided to fish a different stretch of the Ribble  today 9-8-13 opted for an afternoon session setting off at 11:30am arrived on the Middle stretch of the river just after 12.

The swim I picked was a bit tight so just fished the one rod on the feeder with a mixture of pellet 2mm-12mm using a 4ft hook length ( Korda IQ ) with a size 12 Korda Curve Shank after nearly falling in umpteen times decided it was best to move so up streamed about 100 yards nice big peg this time.So Two rods this time with one on a Bomb at 3pm decided to start packing up and the idea was to get in the car and drive to the Upper thought I'd have one more cast on the feeder rod before reeling the bomb rod in and within 5 minutes I was slipping a Nice Gold one in the net at 7lb 7oz gave it another half hour and started on Plan B move onto the Upper.

Arrived on the Upper Ribble just gone 4pm walked to my usual Hot spot about 3/4 mile walk then realised I'd forgotten the bait Bucket well FFS ! 

Another 3/4 mile walk back to the car eventually got a line in the water after a brief cool down.

I like hopping in to different pegs up here so gave the first swim half hour no signs so moved on into what's been a decent peg upto now another tight peg just one rod again on a Bomb loose feeding pellet As i'm basically fishing under my Feet after I'd fed the swim dropped in 20 minutes later straight away a screaming take heading right under the tree had to try and bully it away just couldn't stop the bugger and was snapped off ( P***ed me off really because I know there's a fish with a hook in it mouth now ) could of been from the previous swim as its a very rocky swim should of checked before dropping in again.

anyway threw a few more pellets in why I rigged up again a few moments later and was back in and being pulled down river by another only this time to pull the hook stayed in the swim until 6:30pm and moved into another peg and sat it out until around 19:30 without a single twitch.

Bit of a Camera Cock up 

Opening Season 2013

Brief Update June-Aug
Well what a slow start i've had this season i was on the bank on the opening Monday 17th and i put another Further 6 sessions in going into July and blanked every session the river conditions weren't really tip top The weed was terrible it was really low & clear which made it really hard ( Not ideal for Barbel with the weed & algae Oxygen levels Become Low ).At one point i was sat watching around 8 barbel in the Streamer i was feeding a few pellets but they just wasn't interested so i Decided  to leave the Fishing for a few weeks from the start of July for a few weeks until we got some rain.
Next Session was mid July 26th  still not had any rain Decided to have an Afternoon on With a Friend of mine and a Ribble Regular & Record holder John Monaghan We decided We'd do a bit of walking up to where theres a good run in a Deep Gully we decided to walk out mid River and sit on the bed rock in an inch of water on the edge of the deep run.
John was the first to land a Nice barbel of 8lb we soon moved on down river and hoped to stalk out a few barbel Johns swim was alive with barbel and he was soon into a few fish and i even managed to land my first of the Season around 7lb out of his Peg Haha Cheers John.

As for Myself and many other barbel anglers the wish of Rain soon came as we had a good Downpour 27th July so Decided to get out on the Monday Conditions looked spot on river was still up about 12" And the weed had gone just the odd bits coming through Perfect feeling quite confident so i fished a few Pegs i know are good pegs when theres abit of water on i just fish a nice long hook length 4' with a ( 3"Combi Rig ) Small 1.5oz bomb with a 14mm LodgeBaits Dumbbell glued on the Hair ( I'll post the rigs in a later post ) And just feed a few pellets & hemp wasn't long before i was slipping the net under a 9lb 6oz Barbel a good fish for the stretch i went on to land a further 2 barbel to 7lb and a couple of  nice Chub to 3lb.

Next Session 3rd Aug Decided to do a few hours before the start of the Night shift got on the river for 6pm Dropped in to a few Swims Fishing the same set up as the previous session the first swim was a slow deep Glide a Good big fish hotspot.
i was soon scrapping with what felt a very good fish after it had ran me down river right into a snag i was soon reeling in a wet line Decided to rig-up again and give it another hour at 8pm i moved on into another peg and decided to sit it out here till 11pm a nice shallow swim around 4' Deep usual spot for stalking down the edge with good banks ( Best option fishing into Dark )
As soon as the light started to fade the rod doubled over and after a fight i can only describe as a Barbel that really didn't want to go in the net i had a nice little splasher on the mat about 6lb.
wasn't long before i was in again but after a short fight i'd pulled the hook and lost a decent fish ,Just before i was about to start packing up The rod pulled round and almost flew out of the rest after a good out barbel fight i had the biggest fish of the session resting nicely in the net 7lb 12oz which i did think it was much bigger        ( Hence the reason i weighed it ) Decent Night before Work.
The Shift was a nightmare Haha................

Heres a few Pics of the Season So far a Few pictures Missing Due to a Faulty memory card in the Digital Camera

Heres Where the memory Cards gone Faulty You can see another picture underneath 

Theseus Barbel Master

I recently purchased a pair of these 12ft Theseus Barbel Master 1.75TC rods as i was looking for a reasonable pair of affordable barbel rods so after seeing these i decided to try them out at a Reasonable r.r.p £59.99
At a glance the rods look well built with a high modulus Blank and a nice Graphite weave throughout ( Look allot like a Greys Black to be honest ) With a nice looking Fuji Style ( Screw down Reel seat ) And Quiver top section with 3 tops ( Not labeled but possibly around 2,3,4 oz )
Had a good look at the rods in the shop a nice through action straight through the rod a nice bend through so seamed ideal for fishing my Regular River Ribble.
Well after hoping to land my First Barbel of the season On the opening Monday 17th on one of the new Rods it wasn't to be and after a number of more Blanks the First fish came on the 26th July a Very welcome Scrapper of around 7lb
The Rod Dealt with the fight perfect great Action could really feel the fish was quite happy with the rods.
Until i broke one really weird how it happened the river was full of weed and as the feeder wsd bouncing round i reeled in and pulled the feeder down to hand to pull the weed off around the feeder and thats when it snapped in two places ?
The breaks were in two places on the top section and looked like it had been cut with a saw nice clean cut.
I very much doubt it had been damaged in the car or shed as they hadn't been out of the Quiver maybe a flaw in the Blank who know but its put me off using the other rod now so its back to the Trusty Drennan.

Overall apart from the damaged rod my personal opinion the Thesesus barbel masters a good rod for a Budget of £60 but next time i'd pay the little extra and go for the Fox Warrior S 1.75 or The Daiwa Theory
Overall 6/10

The Broken Top Section

The Screw Down Reel Seat