160-mile round trip results in 16lb 15oz barbel

This 16lb 15oz barbel was a just reward for Jim Reece who made the 160 mile roundtrip from his home in Flintshire to fish the River Dove.

Arriving at the Staffordshire waterway early in the evening, the 23-year-old Airbus UK settled in a swim which allowed him to cast to an overhanging willow tree on the far bank.

His alarm burst into life just after midnight as the impressive specimen picked up his triple 10mm spicy boilie hookbait offered in conjunction with a cage feeder filled with crushed boilies and pellets.

He said: “I travel to the Dove every week. It is a long way, but when there’s fish like this on offer it’s well worth the effort.”

He beat his prize with a 2ft 12lb mono hooklink and a size 8 hook.