The best of our range of baits for catching specimen barbel. Including boilies, pastes, Gloops, liquids, groundbait and hookbait extras (such as pop-ups and hard hookers) from The Hook Bait Company flavours range.

Whilst all of our hookbaits and loosefeed will catch barbel, some (such as Barbel 5 & Barbel Proactive) have been specifically created to target big barbel and others have proven themselves in testing and through anglers’ catches to be our best baits for barbel.

The best baits to catch specimen barbel, from the Hook Bait Company. Best barbel bait, boilies, pellets, pastes and groundbaits
Huge barbel like this LOVE our baits!

Many of our Field Testers and Consultants have landed barbel over 15lb on our baits – as have lots of our customers! On popular rivers like the Trent, Severn and Wye, our baits can be relied upon to produce the goods in all seasons. View some of the many barbel captures on our baits here.

The popularity of barbel fishing on rivers is increasing year on year; as is the average size of fish in many rivers. Whether you’re fishing a popular and pressured day ticket venue or a quiet syndicate stretch, offering a barbel bait that’s a little bit different can give you an edge. Often the larger, warier fish will slip up to someone offering a bait which is distinctive from the mass-produced boilies and pellets everyone else is using. On all venues, and in all seasons, it fills anglers with confidence knowing they’re fishing with a high quality, nutritionally balanced, highly palatable bait – which is why many serious barbel anglers choose boilies and baits from the Hook Bait Company.

Whether you are looking for a good bait to catch your first barbel, or you’re a seasoned specimen hunter looking for a serious edge to increase your barbel PB, the following ranges of baits have proven our best baits for barbel fishing:

Targeting another species? Take a look at our Best Baits for Catfish, Best Baits for Chub, Best Baits for Carp and Best Baits for Tench & Bream.

Nimrod from the Hook Bait Company is one of the best all-round baits on the market for barbel, chub, carp and tench. It is available as boilies, barrels, pop-ups, pellets, paste, groundbait, Gloop and liquid additives. Nimrod is also available with garlic, scopex and salmon livers flavours

Nimrod, Garlic Nimrod, Scopex Nimrod and Salmon Livers Nimrod boilies, chops, pop-ups, pellets, paste, groundbait, Gloop and liquid additives from the Hook Bait Company - superb specialist baits for barbel, chub, carp and specimen fish

Nimrod is our flagship bait. Developed as a big fish bait to cater for carp, tench, barbel and chub, Nimrod has exceeded expectations in all fields but particularly with barbel.

During extensive trials our testers caught 100’s of double figure barbel from venues such as the Upper Severn, Hampshire Avon, Dorset Stour, Yorkshire Wharfe, Dove, Derbyshire Derwent and of course the Trent.

Without giving away all our secrets we can divulge the following ingredients: salmon meal, blended meat meals, various milk derivatives, selected spices and meat flavourings.

Nimrod Products:

Boilies, Barrels & Chops

Base Mix (1kg base mix makes 1.4kg of boilies)

Hook Bait Extras (Pop-ups, Hard Hookers & Flakeys)

Groundbait /Stick Mix, Pellets & Paste

Liquids - A-tract (Pellet & Groundbait additive), Bait Soak (Bait glug), Gloop (Extra thick and sticky long lasting bait glug) Oil (Heavy density additive or soak for all baits)

Garlic Nimrod Products:

Based on the tremendous results achieved by young Dan Thorpe, targeting big barbel on the River Trent over the Winter period, we have now included Garlic to the Nimrod range. Garlic Nimrod certainly helps to put more barbel on the bank in less than favourable conditions.

Dan Thorpe with a Trent barbel 15lb13oz caught on Garlic Nimrod 01

Boilies, Barrels & Chops

Base Mix (1kg base mix makes 1.4kg of boilies)

Hook Bait Extras (Pop-ups, Hard Hookers & Flakeys)

Groundbait /Stick Mix, Pellets & Paste

Liquids - A-tract (Pellet & Groundbait additive), Bait Soak (Bait glug), Gloop (Extra thick and sticky long lasting bait glug) Oil (Heavy density additive or soak for all baits)

Scopex Nimrod Products:

New to the Nimrod range are Scopex Nimrod, and Salmon Livers Nimrod. These baits are aimed more for the carp community as these are proven carp catching flavours. Adding them to our fantastic Nimrod range gives a complete rounded profile.

Boilies, Barrels & Chops

Base Mix (1kg base mix makes 1.4kg of boilies)

Hook Bait Extras (Pop-ups, Hard Hookers & Flakeys)

Groundbait /Stick Mix, Pellets & Paste

Liquids - A-tract (Pellet & Groundbait additive), Bait Soak (Bait glug), Gloop (Extra thick and sticky long lasting bait glug) Oil (Heavy density additive or soak for all baits)

Salmon Livers Nimrod Products:

Boilies, Barrels & Chops

Base Mix (1kg base mix makes 1.4kg of boilies)

Hook Bait Extras (Pop-ups, Hard Hookers & Flakeys)

Groundbait /Stick Mix, Pellets & Paste

Liquids - A-tract (Pellet & Groundbait additive), Bait Soak (Bait glug), Gloop (Extra thick and sticky long lasting bait glug) Oil (Heavy density additive or soak for all baits)

Nimrod - boilies, paste, pellets, groundbait, Gloop and liquids - barbel bait, chub bait, carp fishing bait from the Hook Bait Company

Spicy Meat Pro boilies, chops, pop-ups, pellets, paste, groundbait, Gloop and liquid additives from the Hook Bait Company - superb specialist baits for barbel, chub, carp and specimen fish

Spicy Meat Pro is a protein packed food bait that was hugely successful during over two years of trials, and even more successful since, accounting for several personal best captures of barbel to over 15 pounds.

As the name suggests the bait is really rich and meaty, infused with our highly attractive blend of oils and spices. In water the bait lets of a steady stream of attractants creating a haze around the bait that is particularly attractive to barbel, tench and carp.

Spicy Meat Pro Products:

Boilies, Barrels & Chops

Base Mix (1kg base mix makes 1.4kg of boilies)

Hook Bait Extras (Pop-ups, Hard Hookers & Flakeys)

Groundbait /Stick Mix, Pellets & Paste

Liquids - A-tract (Pellet & Groundbait additive), Bait Soak (Bait glug), Gloop (Extra thick and sticky long lasting bait glug) Oil (Heavy density additive or soak for all baits)

Spicy Meat Pro baits - boilies, paste, boosters, pellets and groundbait for specimen fish like carp, barbel and chub fishing

The Big Cheese range - cheese paste base mix specially designed for catching specimen chub. Also availiable as paste, chops, Flakey, Pop-up Flakey and GloopCheese paste is widely recognised as one of the fundamental baits for catching chub in the colder months. Grated cheddar and blue cheese are the preferred cheese and are often bound together with the inclusion of pastry. The downside to using pastry is that the fat content causes the cheese paste to become firmer in cold water making ‘striking through’ the paste on a bite, a bit hit and miss.

The Big Cheese

The Big Cheese is a soluble milk protein base that has been formulated to enhance the pulling power of the cheese itself, without the need for adding pastry. The Big Cheese is supplied with our own The Big Cheese flavour which you add to the base mix and grated cheese to give it a supple texture that stays soft even in the coldest conditions. Remember, only The Hook Bait Company The Big Cheese is THE Big Cheese! Accept no imitiations – buy The Big Cheese range below.

Check out our video below with Christian Barker’s demonstrating the process of mixing the perfect mix.

New additions to our The Big Cheese range, for your convenience are our ready made paste, 12mm chops (available in 250ml pots and 1kg bags) and The Big Cheese Flakey to go along with our old faithful The Big Cheese and Garlic Original Flakey in both bottom bait and pop up Flakey.

The Big Cheese range from the Hook Bait Company - deadly bait for specimen chub

 

The Big Cheese Paste from The Hook Bait Company - a superb, highly effective alternative to pastry-based cheesepaste - The Big Cheese paste is a superb and time-proven chub bait!The Big Cheese originated several years ago when Darren was discussing the issue of why people used pastry to add to cheese to make paste, with fellow consultant Christian Barker. The Big Cheese is a milk protein mix which replaces the need to use puff pastry as it has no fat content and is super smooth and binds perfectly with the grated cheese. It has caught thousands of chub since its release a few years ago, and it really does stink!

The trouble was, a lot of our customers remarked about the grief they get from their partners when mixing it at home in the kitchen, stinking the house out. Well, to save you any more hassle from the other half about the smell, we have saved you the task of mixing it all by supplying ready made, shelf life cheese paste – in a resealable pot!

Made with real cheddar and blue stilton and just the right amount of The Big Cheese base mix and The Big Cheese flavour, mixed to just the right consistency. Happy Days!

 

The Big Cheese Chops from The Hook Bait Company - superb chub baitThe latest addition to our range of chub baits are The Big Cheese chops (also known as “pillows”, “dumbells” and “squabs”). Darren has been using these for years, with great success, landing chub to 6lb+ on them. Supplied in 12mm chops as standard, they are pliable enough to mount directly on the hook, but are much better presented on the hair. The baits are shelf-life so you can leave them in your tackle bag at the end of your session. Made using our The Big Cheese mix and The Big Cheese flavour these little beauties really do smell of cheese! Just as they ought to.

 

The Big Cheese Flakey from The Hook Bait Company - superb chub baitOriginal Flakey was designed for the sole purpose of giving me confidence in knowing that the bait would not be nibbled away by minnows whilst trying to catch chub. Made from our Milk Pro boilie mix, each piece is individually crafted by hand to give it the flake look. The baits are then steamed so that the flavour is locked in and the flakey is very durable. You can change the size of the flakey by nipping off pieces with your finger nails which also lets out more of the flavour.

Supplied in a handy re-sealable pot, these are supplied in our The Big Cheese flavour as standard, but are also available in all of our flavours. The baits are shelf life too!

 

The Big Cheese Gloop - high-attraction thick liquid hook bait dip & enhancerStill available in the range is our ‘The Big Cheese Gloop‘. The Gloop is flouro yellow in colour and the perfect accompaniment for both our new The Big Cheese Flakey as well as our original The Big Cheese with Garlic Flakey. It has proved to also be a great success in testing when used with our new The Big Cheese chops, giving these superb baits an even better edge.

 


The Big Cheese – Complete Range



Paste Pots from the Hook bait Company - paste fishing bait for specimen fish

Handy 250ml pots of ready-made, shelf-life paste to enhance the pulling power of your bait, which we highly recommend.

Of course, our pastes can be used on their own as a highly palatable, soft hookbait. With a host of flavours to choose from – including all of our Hook Bait Flavours range – they are handy to have in your bait bag for any given angling situation.

Paste Pots


250ml Paste Pot (Shelf-Life Paste)



Barbel 5: Crab and Anchovy boilies, chops, pop-ups, pellets, paste, groundbait, Gloop and liquid additives from the Hook Bait Company - superb specialist baits for barbel, chub, carp and specimen fish

The awesome Barbel 5 is back! Its been 6 years since we last produced this fantastic Crab & Anchovy  bait and its back with a vengeance. Barbel 5  is an instant attract bait that barbel readily accept as a food item and it caught many big barbel back in the day.

Due to the precise make up of the bait, a couple of ingredients proved difficult to source when our supplier stopped importing them 6 years ago, and reluctantly we had to stop producing the bait as it just was not the same. Thankfully after many years searching around for alternative ingredients, we are now 100% happy with the bait and so we are proud to be re-launching this very popular bait.

The bait has a very strong odour, similar to a bank tramp and will help to pull fish away from sanctuary spots to investigate the crustacean smell.
Without giving too much away the bait contains the following:
Pre-digested fishmeal, milk protein, yeast, anchovy extract, crab, & stimanol

Barbel 5  – Crab & Anchovy Products:

Boilies, Barrels & Chops
Base Mix (1kg base mix makes 1.4kg of boilies)
Hook Bait Extras (Pop-ups, Hard Hookers & Flakeys)
Groundbait/Stick Mix, Pellets & Paste
Liquids - A-tract (Pellet & Groundbait additive), Bait Soak (Bait glug), Gloop (Extra thick and sticky long lasting bait glug), Oil (Heavy density additive or soak for all baits)

Barbel 5 - specialist barbel fishing baits from the Hook Bait Company

Pop-Up Flakey - buoyant steamed bait designed to imitate breadflake but to be much more resilient. Can be used legering or on a zig rig, and also as a surface fishing bait

A true HBC original! Original Flakey was designed for the sole purpose of giving Darren confidence in knowing that his bread flake bait would not be nibbled away by minnows whilst trying to catch chub.

Available exclusively from The Hook Bait Company, Flakey cleverly combines the looks and appeal of breadflake with the resilience and robustness of a boilie. At last you can trot a piece of flake or fish it on the bottom without fear of the bait being nibbled away by nuisance fish! You can fish-on knowing that your bait will be there even if you miss a tentative bite, no more reeling in to attach a fresh piece of flake!

Made from our Milk Pro HNV boilie mix, each piece is individually crafted by hand to give it the flake look. The baits are then steamed so that the flavour is locked in and the Flakey is very durable. You can change the size of the Flakey by nipping off pieces with your finger nails which also lets out more of the flavour.

Available in either standard Cheese & Garlic or any of our flavour range, these individually crafted pieces of flake are steamed to lock in the flavour, for optimum attraction. Supplied in a handy re-sealable pot, The baits are shelf life too!

The bait is pliable enough to mount directly on the hook but each piece is pre-drilled for mounting on a hair. As the baits are steamed rather than boiled, the flavour and attractor levels are much higher making them ideal for attracting chub for example when trotting. You can nip off pieces to change the shape of the flake and let out a bit more flavour. Tremendous for tempting the chub in the harshest of conditions in conjunction with our ‘The Big Cheese’ Gloop.

As with our Original Flakey, we also offer a pop-up version as well. As with all our baits, the pop-up flakey is available in all of our flavours in a mix of colours to suit all possible light conditions. The pop-up flakey can be used in a multitude of angling conditions, be it popped up a few inches from the bottom or fished as a unique bait for zig-rigging or surface floater fishing. The fish will certainly not be used to seeing bread flake in the middle of the lake, and this could well be the edge you have been looking for.

Remember, only The Hook Bait Company Flakey is THE ORIGINAL Flakey! Accept no imitations.

Pop-Up Flakey


Pop-Up Flakey (Breadflake)
Flavours