Pellet & Boilie Rigs

No subject has divided opinion between catfish anglers more than the use of pellets to catch catfish! Opinions range from 'They should be banned' and Pellet caught cats don't count' through to 'The best cat bait there is' !

Whichever camp you are in, there is no doubt about it that catfish love pellets. Many cat waters contain carp so there are always going to be large quantities of both pellets and boilies going in, cats being the opportunistic scavengers that they are will soon turn to them as a food source. Many anglers wrongly believe that this is to the exclusion of all other baits. Whilst cats do like pellets and boilies, there is not a wels catfish on this planet that won't take a well presented live bait! It is up to the individual to make a decision about what bait they like to use, beware however, if you choose the pellet route, you risk catching other species and if you set yourself up to catch carp or cats (whatever comes along) you will at some point lose big cats.

There has probably been more written about boilie and pellet rigs than just about any other form of angling and any 'stepped-up' carp presentation is likely to work. Where large baits are required (to avoid the attentions of nuisance fish) strings or bunches of pellets or outsize boilies can be effective, especially when fished over beds of bait. Pellets are available in a variety of sizes but most anglers tend to go with the smaller ones for feed and the biggest (up to 28mm) for use as hookbaits.

Strings or bracelets are very widely used presentations at the now popular Spanish 'Pellet venues', these are usually coupled with huge quantities of feed bait. 
Packs of halibut, trout and salmon pellets are widely available as are purpose made 'jumbo' boilies, sticks, chunks and pop-ups. Everyone has their favourite. Large halibut pellets can be bought in quantity at more favourable prices, well know brands include Skretting and Coppens. Most anglers prefer oily pellets as they break down slower in water.

Read Phil Ayletts thought-provoking Whiskers article about the use of pellets for catfish

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