Cooking pearl barley for fishing. Every fishing enthusiast has his own secrets for making good barley bait. Moreover, it is both boiled and steamed, bought in bags or cooked in a microwave oven, activators or even vitamins are added, it all depends on desire. Let's take a look at several different recipes. Properly prepared barley is the key to successful fishing. Many people buy boats and even luxury boats in order to glide on the water surface in search of decent fishing trophies.