2lb roach shock in barbel session

When Dave Chambers received a series of little knocks during a barbel session on the River Thames, he scaled down his tackle expecting chub to be the culprits - instead, he hooked in to this quality roach weighing 2lb 4oz.

Fishing over a bed of Vitalin, pellet and boilies, the 51-year-old used a piece of prototype Wraysbury Bait paste on a size 8 G Force hook and a 10lb Drennan Double Strength hooklink.

“It’s ironic that I spent years trying to catch a 2lb roach from the Thames by design and the best I managed was 1lb 13oz, before I gave up. Now I’ve caught one on a barbel trip! I’ll definitely be back for these big roach because there are cartainly more of them in the river these days,” he said.