14lb barbel from the River Trent

Rik Johnson was on the verge of calling it a day and heading home – but was glad he didn’t when he hooked in to this cracking 14lb 12oz Tidal Trent barbel.

The manager of Chapmans Angling had arrived at the Nottinghamshire waterway to be greeted by a river carrying an extra 3ft of water.

Using 8oz of lead to hold bottom he cast around large open end feeders for five hours to no avail.

He said: “I’d just started to tidy my things away when I saw a slight pull on my downstream rod which quickly developed in to an aggressive take. I eventually landed the ‘14’ and decided to stay on for a few more hours.”

It proved to be a wise decision as Rik went on to land a further six barbel to 12lb.