18lb 9oz barbel smashes River Rother record
The River Rother barbel record has been smashed with the capture of an 18lb 9oz specimen.
The fish, caught by Ian Duffy, was banked from a Petworth and Bognor Angling Club controlled stretch of the Sussex waterway.
Amazingly, the Littlehampton-based rod only started targeting the species a year ago but his latest catch – which is also believed to be the biggest barbel to be recorded in the county - has seen him achieve what many big fish hunters wait a lifetime for.
Arriving at first light, he cast a running feeder filled with small halibut pellets and groundbait into a narrow swim and received the all-important bite just 20 minutes.
He told Angling Times: “I only joined the club this season so haven’t been fishing the river very long. I am so glad I joined, though, they have done so much work to improve the venue and have also been great by helping me to catch this superb fish – I’m totally hooked on barbel fishing now and have got a few other rivers in mind which I’m planning on targeting.”
The fish, which was weighed and witnessed by fellow club member Tom Beirne, is thought to have originally come from the nearby River Arun but could have entered the Rother during last year’s floods or via the new Environment Agency fish pass at Hardham which allows fish to pass between the two rivers.
Anyone wishing to join the club and fish both the Rother and Arun should visit their website at: www.sussexangling.co.uk.
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Three barbel for 40lb despite the freeze
A series of harsh frosts looked like they were would ruin Gary Lucas’ chances of success following a long baiting campaign on the River Thames, but he defied the odds to land a trio of barbel for 40lb.
The London-based rod spent a month priming a potential hotspot with boilies and had pencilled in a date for his opening session.
Despite freezing cold temperatures hitting the area, he stuck to the original plan and headed to the swim for a short evening session.
Within 15-minutes casting out a 16mm boilie hookbait on a size 10 G-Force hook he had banked a barbel of 14lb 3oz and this was shortly followed by a fish of 14lb 11oz.
The impressive hat-trick was then completed with an 11lb 2oz barbel. He said: “I’ve fished the Thames for over 25 years and nights like this don’t come along very often.”
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Just one bite results in 17lb 4oz Ouse barbel
A groundbait and meat attack has accounted for this stunning 17lb 4oz barbel for James Crameri.
Many experts have ranked 2014 as one of the best ever for big barbel and the Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk-based specialist further cemented this view when he banked the specimen from the Great River Ouse.
The majority anglers these day rely on pellets and boilies, but James began his session by introducing six balls of spicy groundbait laced with pieces of meat into two likely looking swims.
After persevering in the first for several hours without a bite he upped sticks and then cast his hair-rigged meat hookbait to a crease in the current. And 40 minutes later he received his first, and only, bite of the day.
“I hadn’t fished the river for ages, but in the last week or so I really got the urge to begin my winter campaign. The last thing I expected was to kick it off with a stunning fish like this though,” said James.
“Many anglers use relatively short hooklinks when fishing for barbel, but I like to fish one that’s around 4ft as this set-up is less likely to give you any false indications. I also used a PVA bag filled with groundbait and pieces of meat - a combination that’s great for creating an enticing scent trail in the water, especially when your chosen river is carrying a little extra colour and flow.”
James’ rig was made from a 12lb Korda Subline mainline, a 15lb Drennan E-S-P Sink Link hooklink and a size 10 hook.
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16lb barbel after switch in tactics
A quick change in tactics resulted in this cracking 16lb 3oz River Loddon barbel for Cliff Mosey.
The Sandhurst-based rod had headed to the Berkshire waterway with his 11-year-old son, Henry, with the intentions of spending a couple of hours fishing for the chub with breadflake.
But when he saw the river he had to have a rethink. He said: “The water was really coloured and I knew we’d struggle for the chub. I had some pellets with me so decided to have a go for the barbel with a banded hookbait – and what a great decision it turned out to be!”
Cliff’s successful set-up consisted of 6lb Gardner HydroFlo line with a size 8 barbless hook.
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18lb 6oz barbel is a record on the River Dove
The seemingly endless run of huge barbel from rivers nation-wide has continued this week with a series of personal best fish hitting the bank topped by new River Dove record of 18lb 6oz.
Jim Ufton landed the specimen, which beat his old pb of 17lb 6oz and upped the venue best by 2oz, during a short evening session on the waterway.
The Staffordshire-based rod, who has held the river record on four different occasions, used a home-made boilie in conjunction with a simple feeder rig.
“I’m convinced that these pressured fish are spooked by constant casting so I literally pick the perfect spot, make one cast and leave it in the water for long as possible,” Jim told Angling Times.
“A lot of anglers on this stretch pile the bait in, but I had this fish by squeezing a few broken boilies into my feeder.”
Another angler to beat his personal best was Luke Ayling who slipped the net under a 16lb 10oz specimen from the River Thames.
Despite having to use a 4oz grippa lead in order to hold bottom and combat the constant stream of debris being flushed down the river, the Oxfordshire specialist put his faith in a paste-wrapped boilie alongside a PVA bag filled with pellets and crushed baits.
“I had to recast every 45 minutes as the lead was being dragged out of position, but the back lead I was using kept the hookbait free of rubbish and the paste that I moulded around the lead produced a strong scent trail in the water,” said Luke.
A home-made boilie lowered into the edge of a club stretch of the Dorset Stour proved the downfall of a 16lb 10oz specimen for Bob Edwards.
The fish set a new personal best the Lovedean, Hampshire-based rod who got his prize to the bank with a rig constructed from 12lb mainline and a size 8 Drennan Barbel hook.
Finally, Stewart Moss certainly had every reason to smile when he smashed his barbel pb by 13oz when he netted a superb 16lb 5oz fish from a midlands river.
The Drennan International employee used no free offerings and opted for a legered CC Moore Meteor boilie along with a PVA bag filled with pellets and 10mm boilies.
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Big week for barbel topped by new Severn record
A huge 16lb 11oz River Severn record barbel has been caught this week by Kevin Gittins during an evening session.
It smashed the previous river record by 6oz and took over 25 minutes to land after picking up Kevin’s double boilie hookbait.
“It ripped 40 metres off braid off my reel and then fought like a big carp for around 15 minutes until everything went solid as it found a snag,” Kevin told Angling Times.
“I put the rod back in the rest and thankfully after a few minutes the fish started to take line again, and gave me a second chance. After what felt like an age I flicked the head torch on as I felt the fish was about to break the surface and that’s when the adrenaline really kicked in.
“When it went into the net I let out an almighty gasp and slumped back into my old chair - I couldn’t believe that the fish that I’d been after for over 14 years was sitting in the bottom of my landing net.”
Patience also paid off for Ian Grant who had to endure several blank sessions before slipping the net under a 16lb 8oz River Loddon barbel.
The Twyford and District Angling Club head bailiff tempted the huge fish using his own homemade bait after pre-baiting a swim every other night for over a week.
A jubilant Ian said: “I'd been blanking for several sessions in a swim a few hundred yards upstream of where I caught it as this is where they usually are but luckily I had been baiting another swim which I moved to and it paid off.”
Ian beat his prize with a running leger setup comprising 18ins of Sufix Black Silt tied to 12lb Berkley Big Game mainline.
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450 miles for a new barbel personal best
Marcus Weaver broke his personal best barbel twice in the space of six weeks after making a second 450-mile round trip to the River Trent.
Weighing 15lb 4oz, the Three Foot Twitch consultant’s latest fish beat his previous best of 14lb 4oz which was landed from the same venue the last time he visited back in September. The South Wales rod tempted the fish using a 3FT 14mm dubby boilie baited on a size 10 Fox Ssc Arma point hook after feeding his swim with loose dubby boilies as an attractant. His setup consisted of Diawa sensor 15lb line with a 15lb Kryston Incognito fluorocarbon combi rig with 15lb ESP camo sink link braid.
“I drive over the Wye, Taff and Severn during my journey, but I have tunnel vision when it comes to the Trent because it’s just an incredible fishery that has so much potential,” said Marcus.
“My jaw hit the floor when the dial of my scales swug around to 15lb 4oz and it makes the 450-mile round trip like a walk in the park.”
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Trent barbel rattles venue record at 19lb 1oz
Two chunks of luncheon meat and a blade of grass is all Daniel Jamson required to land the fish of a lifetime in the form of this record-shaking 19lb 1oz barbel.
The monster specimen, caught from an undisclosed stretch of the River Trent, is the biggest landed this season for the species and is just three ounces short of the current venue record. The 25-year-old Nottingham rod, who landed an 18lb 6oz fish from the same stretch three weeks earlier, was into the last hour of a short evening session when two pieces of plain luncheon meat on a size 8 hook with a piece of grass resulted in the take he had been waiting for.
“I know the stretch very well as I’ve fished here for ten years and had nearly 50 doubles this season alone so I knew there were fish of this size in here but I’m just so happy that ive managed to land what is possibly the biggest.”
The successful rig was a straight bomb setup with 12lb mainline cast just 15 yards out onto a gravel run which Daniel had fed with around 1kg of both halibut and krill flavoured pellets.
Another angler enjoying the fantastic barbel sport on offer at the inform venue is John Mott who visited the river and landed seven double figure barbel, topped by a 16lb 2oz personal best specimen.
He used Three Foot Twitch Canadian Bounty 18mm boilies that were hair-rigged on to a size 10 hook.
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Goulder's nine barbel topped by trio over 10lb
Former Drennan Cup holder, Darran Goulder, took full advantage of an in-form River Wye to land nine barbel, including three over the 10lb-barrier.
The Kent-based Fortis Eyewear boss made the trip to the Herefordshire waterway where he cast 4oz open end feeders filled with 6mm pellets and groundbait in to the main flow.
“Conditions were perfect – relatively mild with a couple of feet of floodwater,” he told Angling Times. “There was a fair amount of debris being washed downstream, but rather than using back leads I paid out a large bow in my 12lb Shimano Tribal Carp mainline which meant the fish couldn’t come in to contact with it.”
Darran successful set-up consisted of two 10mm Dynamite Baits The Source boilies wrapped in paste which he mounted on a size 6 wide gape hook and a 15lb braided hooklink.
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14lb River Severn barbel gives angler the run-around
A bit of extra pace and colour in the lower River Severn helped David Benfield bag this 14lb barbel.
The 29-year-old roof tiler smashed his personal best by 3lb after a surging fight. He said: “It hugged the bottom and I had to run up the bank and around some trees, but thankfully it wasn’t a long battle.”
David used dampened Sonubaits Cheesy Garlic pellets in a Korum open-ended feeder and fish two matching baits on a hair rig.
He added: “I lost another cracking fish as well, so I’ll be going for that one.”
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30-year quest for double figure barbel ends
Reg Long has been visiting the River Severn at Bridgnorth for almost 30-years in search of a double figure barbel… and he finally achieved his goal last week.
This 11lb 11oz personal best specimen was the Bromley, Kent man’s well-earned reward and fell to a hair-rigged chunk of luncheon meat fished over a bed of hemp and micro pellets. The retired accountant used an 8lb hooklink and a size 8 Drennan Continental Boilie Hook to beat his prize.
He said: “Five of us have made the trip to Bridgnorth every year since 1985 to fish for barbel for the week and the winner is given ‘The Barbel Cup!’ This double has been a long time coming and easily beats my old best of 9lb.”
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14lb 4oz barbel within ten minutes of casting out
A bite within 10 minutes of casting out produced this 14lb 4oz barbel for Alan Stagg during a session on a Thames tributary.
The Gardner media manager’s rig was positioned just half a rod length from the bank over a spot which he’d primed a few hours before with a mix of 4mm trout pellets, hemp and chopped CC Moore Odyssey XXX boilies.
“It’s one of the trickiest stretches I have fished to date,” explained Alan, who used a critically-balanced hookbait consisting of a 14mm boilie tipped with buoyant pellets from Enterprise Tackle.
“The fish are well worth the effort, though, and my last four bites have resulted in barbel of 11lb, 12lb 10oz, 15lb 8oz and 14lb 4oz.”
He completed his set-up with 15lb Trickster Heavy braid and a size 8 Covert Wide Gape Talon Tip hook.
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12lb 10oz barbel from Thames tributary
Alan Stagg has continued his successful start to his barbel campaign, adding this 12lb 10oz to his tally during his latest out on a Thames tributary.
The Hampshire-based specimen hunter used his trusty homemade bait dropper to introduce a bed of hemp and 4mm CC Moore pellets and fooled the impressive fish with a mag-aligner rig consisting of 15lb Trickster Heavy braid and a size 12 Covert Mugga hook.
He said: “My last three bites from the stretch have all been doubles, so I’m certainly pleased the way this autumn’s barbel fishing is going.”
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Amazing week for big barbel
It has been another fantastic week for the nation’s barbel anglers with some of the season’s biggest specimens gracing the bank from rivers at opposite ends of the country.
Darren Worton targeted a Christchurch Angling Club-controlled stretch of the Dorset Stour and set a new personal best for the species when a huge 16lb 9oz fish slid over the net.
After quietly creeping in to position he lowered a single boilie alongside a small mesh PVA bag of freebies over a marginal spot.
The rig had only been in position for a couple of minutes when line started stripping from his reel as the fish realised its mistake and made a bid for freedom.
“As soon as I made contact with it I knew it was a barbel – and a large one at that!” said the music promoter. “It tried to dive in to the weed but I managed to steer it clear and it wasn’t long before it was laying on the mat.
“I knew the river held fish of this size but they are few and far between and to beat my previous best by over 1lb was a special feeling,” added Darren, who used 30lb braided mainline to a 15lb hooklength and a size 12 hook.
Further north on the River Trent, Paddy Clampett experienced a similar level of elation after he banked a new pb barbel weighing 16lb 2oz.
Having gone almost three months without wetting a line, the Nottingham-based Stota Baits consultant headed to an overgrown and neglected spot on the middle reaches of the waterway and cast out a 14mm Foul Play boilie glugged in a new prototype additive.
“I was hoping I would land a double figure fish to get back in to the swing of things but I never expected to catch something as big as this within three hours of casting out,” said Paddy.
“Getting it in the net wasn’t plane sailing, though, as it found a couple of snags and it was a nerve-wracking 20 minutes before I finally got the upper hand.”
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Brothers bank personal bests from Hampshire Avon
Two days on the Royalty stretch of the Hampshire Avon saw brothers Josh and Toby Searl both bank a personal best 13lb-plus barbel.
It was 31-year-old Josh who struck first with a stunning 13lb 7oz whisker, adding an 11lb 4oz fish just hours later. Touch ledgering paste with a PVA bag of micro pellets did the business for the Fordingbridge angler, who took advantage of the recent mild weather conditions to smash his personal best by over 6lb. The pair returned to the stretch the following day where not to be outdone, Toby (26) landed a fin-perfect 13lb 1oz barbel using identical tactics.
“It was two dream days fishing together really, our luck was in and we couldn’t have asked for anymore,” said Josh.
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Two 15lb river barbel banked
Low and clear conditions on many rivers hasn’t hampered the nation’s barbel anglers with Iain McDonald leading the way with this cracking 15lb 6oz fish.
The Canterbury, Kent-based all-rounder travelled to a Thames tributary where he presented a 10mm Hookbait Company pellet over a clear gravel run.
The first two hours of the trip passed without event, but just as the light was starting to fade his rod tip hooped over.
“It was an explosive fight, with the fish making several powerful runs before eventually giving up and dropping in to the net,” said the 42-year-old.
“I was delighted to land such a big barbel in the conditions and I packed up straight after as I knew the chances of getting a bigger one that evening were extremely unlikely,” added Iain, who used 10lb mainline to a size 12 Korum Power hook.
Further north, first time barbel angler Michael Brian opened his account with a 15lb specimen from the Derbyshire Derwent.
The local rod rekindled his love for the sport two months ago but despite fishing an Earl of Harrington’s AC controlled stretch of the waterway on a weekly basis he only had a small chub to show for his efforts.
That all changed on his latest outing, however, when he baited a deep hole with hemp and presented a Dynamite Baits The Source boilie over the top.
“I knew there were some massive barbel in the area but I never expected my first ever one to be this big,” said Michael.
“As soon as I hooked it I could feel the weight of it and once it was in the net I knew it was something special. All the blanks have been worthwhile and I’m more than willing to go through all that again to find an even bigger Derwent barbel,” he added.
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Double-figure barbel from tiny Midlands river
An 18ins-deep river produced this surprise double-figure barbel for Chris Long.
The Worksop angler caught it from the River Ryton, a tributary of the Idle, in Nottinghamshire.
“The river is 8ft wide and 18ins deep at best,” said the 36-year-old. “I’ve fished it for years and had fantastic results with 5lb-plus chub, but my recent outing resulted in two barbel – one of them being 10lb 2oz.
“I have since been back and have spotted more than 20 barbel, chub, and pike.”
Chris used maggots held on the bottom with 3 SSG splitshot.
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14lb 11oz barbel caught from Derbyshire Derwent
The Derbyshire Derwent has produced numerous personal bests this season - and it threw up another one to Dale Moore when he netted this 14lb 11oz barbel.
During a short three hour session he presented a legered halibut pellet over a small bed of freebies and received the all-important bite halfway through the trip.
“I’m delighted at landing such a fish and my next target is either a big carp or a 15lb-plus barbel from the venue,” said Dale, who used a 20lb braided hooklink to a size 10 hook.
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15lb barbel and 7lb chub in one session from River Avon
Nigel Kennard made a triumphant return to the Hampshire Avon with the capture of a personal best 15lb 10oz barbel and a pb equalling 7lb 1oz chub.
The 35-year-old postman from Bellingham, London hadn’t fished the venue for three years until last month. Arriving at a stretch in the middle reaches of the waterway he looked in several swims before spotting a shoal of a dozen big chub.
“I’d been watching them for 10 minutes when I saw a massive barbel on a small gravel patch close in,” he said. “I decided to bait the swim with just a PVA bag of crushed Carp Company boilies and 4mm and 6mm pellets as I’d noticed barbel spooking off big beds of bait.”
An hour after casting out a 14mm boilie hookbait on a size 8 ESP D7 hook and 12lb Sink Link hooklength he received a powerful bite with line ripped off his reel as the fished headed for a weedy shallow patch downstream.
“I was able to turn him and pumped him upstream where it then plodded around under the rod tip for a couple of minutes. I could clearly see how big it was and knew it was going to be close to my old pb of 15lb 3oz.”
After releasing his prize he fed the swim with six boilies every 20 minutes for two hours in a bid to get the chub to feed and scaled down his tackle to a 10lb hooklink and size 10 hook with a 1oz running lead.
“I got my second bite of the day just after dark and could tell straight away that it was a chub. It went in the net without any hassle and as I lifted the net up I could tell it was a massive fish. I weighed it a 7lb 1oz which equalled my Hants Avon chub best.”
Nigel rounded off the session with three more chub weighing 6lb 10oz, 6lb 2oz and 5lb 15oz.
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Competition winners bag up with Des Taylor
Competition winners Stuart Jessop and Phil McGuire made the most of a day’s fishing with Des Taylor with several fine barbel from the River Severn near Bewdley, Worcs.
Using open-end feeder gear with scalded pellets, the two anglers from Lincoln and Sheffield and were delighted with their efforts from a tough, low river affected by foam on the water.
“They were proper river anglers who fished really well,” said Des, who had offered the prize of a day’s fishing with him exclusively to Angling Times readers. All the fish fell to fish-based boilies.
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