15lb barbel from the River Nene

Jamie Cartwright has continued his impressive run of form and just days after landing a brace of 7lb-plus chub from the Great Ouse he banked this 15lb 5oz barbel during an evening session on the River Nene.

The Northants Specimen Group member decided to get away from the heavily pressured areas of the waterway and headed to a quiet stretch which he knew received little attention from other anglers.

Arriving just as the light was fading Jamie adopted his favoured barbel approach, offering a large homemade boilie on a size 6 ESP D7 hook and a 15lb Korda N-Trap hooklink set up as a running rig with a 2.5oz grippa lead.

“The first hour had been very quiet and I was just about to reel in to move to a different area when my tip wrapped round,” he told Angling Times.

“My mate and I have been searching for a few new areas on the Nene and this is one we’ve had our eyes on for a while. It was the third time we’ve fished the stretch and this is the only bite either of us have had from there which suggests it is a very low-stock stretch. This fish was a great result, though, and has encouraged us to have a few more sessions down there to see what else turns up.”