Huge 17lb barbel smashes River Dove record

With the number of river record claims down so far this season, Derbyshire angler Scott Blues must have thought he was going to add to the figures when he hooked into this big Dove barbel just 6oz short of the water’s best.

Fishing a club stretch of the river, the 33-year-old specimen-hunter took the 17lb fish while targeting a swim he suspected held big specimens under an overhanging tree. He baited-up with around 10 droppers of hemp and pellets, before sitting back for a few hours to let the fish settle over the feed.

“At around 8pm, I dropped my bolt rigs into place with hair-rigged, squared-off 16mm boilies soaked in halibut oil,” said Scott. “I was using bite alarms and the fish gave me the only bite of the session, which came around midnight. There were a few little beeps that I thought was debris, but it kept going so I struck into it.

“My previous best was 15lb, so I’m well chuffed with the fish. I’m sure there’s a bigger one around, though,” he added.