The River Wye is over a 400 mile round trip from my Norfolk home so when I do manage to pay a visit to its banks after its torpedo shaped fighting fit Barbel and suicidal chub, I try to make sure it’s a productive one. My normal approach is the feeder filled with the best Barbel groundbait on the market, Sonubaits Hemp and Hali crush, for hookbait I prefer an 8mm or 12mm Sonu “O” pellet.

Talking about the Hemp and Hali Crush reminds me of a few weeks ago when I visited the Sonubaits factory to have a look at some new products, while I was there a batch of Hemp and Hali was being made, the nutty aroma of freshly crushed hemp filled the air along with the smell of crushed halibut pellets as they went through the process that turns them into the Hemp and Hali Groundbait we know. The only other ingredient is top secret and only a couple of people at the factory know what it is, I was just told its a feeding enhancer,  all I know is it works whatever it is.
Back to the Wye I arrived on a bright sunny morning with the river a little above summer level with a tinge of colour, ideal conditions and the river looking good after being 6ft up and un-fishable a few days previous. A few chub could be seen but no Barbel as yet, I felt confident that would change once some bait went in.

Using a big Korum feeder I fed 5 feeders full into the swim with some hemp and a few pellets in the mix. The plan being to rest the swim for an hour before fishing, I sat down took in the atmosphere and just enjoyed my surroundings with a kingfisher darting up and down the river and some noisy crows mocking a buzzard overhead, it makes me realise why I love fishing so much.

The first cast with a hook bait resulted in very quick bite and by the speed of the bite and the lack of a follow up I suspected a chub, a recast and almost an action replay of the first but this time the chub hooked himself and a fat summer chub of over 4lb was the first fish of the day, like chub often do he spewed the contents of his gut into my landing net, a quick look proved my theory, he had been dining out on the Hemp and Hali big style.

The first Barbel followed not long after the chub and from then on it was pretty much a fish a cast throughout the day until about 4pm, mostly chub, with the best well over 5lb. The action slowed and almost stopped, I tried the normal trick of resting the swim for 20-30 minutes but it didn’t really have a great effect.

I remembered a conversation I had with Chris Ponsford a few weeks previous and him telling me the Wye Barbel had a liking for small boilies and a particular favourite was Sonubait Crab and Crayfish in 10mm. I crushed a dozen or so boilies and put in the feeder plugged that with some Hemp and Hali, for the hook I shaved the skin off of a boilie to help realise the flavour, dipped it in some crab and crayfish glug and out it went.

The reaction was instant I had hardly placed the rod in the rest when it whacked over, this was no chub as a fighting fit Barbel screamed off down the river.  Wye Barbel really pull hard and this was no exception as a Barbel of close to 8lb finally came to the net, looking at the size of its fins it no wonder it fought so well, Its pectoral fins were the size of my hands.