For many barbel anglers, fishing a static bait and waiting for the rod to slam round is the name of the game. But there’s another way to catch them that’s particularly effective at this time of year—rolling meat. Although not a new method, you’ll see very few anglers practising the subtle yet simple art. However, over recent summers, Yorkshire all-rounder Darren Starkey has enjoyed superb sport when using the tactic.
Add some weight
Luncheon meat is a slow-sinking bait so, in fast flows, you want to add a bit of weight to it to ensure your hookbait is trundling along the bottom. People do this in numerous ways – some simply add shot or a small weight a short distance above the hook, while others go for a blob of tungsten putty or even Plasticine. I choose to add weight to the hook itself by wrapping heavy-gauge fly-tying wire down the shank of a size 2 hook.
I’ve seen some anglers add shrink tubing to hold this in place, but I think the small grooves in between each turn of lead wire help to grip your hookbait better. To stop the wire from slipping down the shank, I just add a hookable bead. You might be thinking that a size 2 hook is far too big – however, when rolling meat, I’m using pretty big meat cubes, so you need a sufficiently large hook to hold the bait in place.
Plus, I mount the meat by pushing the whole hook inside it. That means it’s totally concealed when rolling through the swim. Another advantage of burying the hook this way is that I can cast tight to snags and get away with clipping the odd trailing leaf, as there’s no exposed point to snag them with.
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Try a bright mainline
Unusually, I use a bright red mainline – my choice being Sufix’s Tritanium mono in around 10lb breaking strain. It’s a saltwater line, but that’s not why I choose it – the vibrant colour is what I rate. When rolling meat, you’ve always got a slight bow in your line. With something bright, you can clearly watch it and track the progress and pace of your hookbait, letting you know when you need to give it a little flick with the rod to keep it moving along, or when it’s trundling through nicely.
Of course, the bright line also provides bite indication – rapidly zinging tight when you get a take – but you usually feel a firm yank through the rod when a barbel or a chub picks up the hookbait anyway! Although it may not look particularly great on the reel, trust me, it’s superb to fish with!
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Go big to begin with
My hookbait is a lump of Dynamite Baits’ Frenzied meat, and the garlic flavour is my favourite. I take two packs, which I cut into large chunks. There’s no specific size I use, but by cutting them big, I can always make them smaller on the bank, should I wish to.
Generally, I use a large piece, which barbel have no trouble getting in their mouths! Rolling meat is also a good tactic for chub, and you’ve the chance of quality fish in between the barbel.
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The kit you need
As mentioned earlier, the tackle I need is carried in a waist pouch, and all my terminal tackle fits into a small plastic box. This contains hooks, fly-tying wire, hook beads, as well as a few shots, swivels and bombs, just in case I want to add a significant bit of extra weight. I use one of the soon-to-be-released Normark Legacy Fast Feeder rods, the 12ft version with a quivertip fitted.
This soft tip gives a great feel of what I’m fishing over, while the rod has plenty of backbone to tame an angry barbel. Additionally, I bring a long-handled landing net pole. Often, when rolling meat, I’ll stand high up the bank to keep as much line out of the water as possible, which assists with presentation. The long handle helps to reach fish from any higher positions.
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Nailing the technique
Unusually on rivers, much of my fishing when rolling meat starts with a cast well upstream. This allows the bait to reach the bottom, particularly in faster flows, whereas a downstream cast will often see your hookbait drifting up with the tension in the line. Additionally, an upstream cast helps the hookbait to travel in a more natural line, rather than arcing around in the flow.
After casting, I’ll hold the rod high to stay in touch with the meat as it rolls down and in front of me, and I’ll let it carry on trundling downstream until it starts to lift. The whole time I watch the bow in the line, which tells me how the bait is progressing. If it stops along the way, held up by something on the bottom, I don’t mind too much – I’ll leave it for a moment, then give the rod a little flick to keep it moving.
Sometimes, a fish will grab it just as it starts to move off! It’s hard to describe the pace you want the bait to be moving at, because this depends slightly on the rate of flow. However, a steady and controlled ‘trundle’, having the bait moving along the bottom without swinging unnaturally, is what you want to achieve. The only way to really learn, though, is to go out and try it!
IF YOU ARE YET TO CATCH A BARBEL, READ THIS BEGINNERS GUIDE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
