River Kennet barbel tops 13lb 5oz

While most stayed indoors as the nation’s waterways overflowed, Paul Codman braved the conditions and was rewarded with this personal best 13lb 5oz barbel from a high and coloured stretch of the River Kennet.

Confident an area of the venue close to Burghfield Lake would produce a big fish in the raging conditions, the Hampshire-based rigged up a two rod setup both baited with 18mm Caviar and Cranberry boilies wrapped in paste and micro pellets.
After a quiet opening stint, he received a gentle twitch on the right hand rod and struck into a solid resistance.

“The fish buried straight into a snag and I was forced to walk downstream and get another angle on it. Thankfully it eventually came out and stayed deep before coming to the surface and going into the net,” explained Paul, who beat his previous best by just over 1lb.