Neil’s 300-hour barbel payoff

After nearly 300 hours without a fish, Neil Wayte struck gold with this 17lb 4oz Thames barbel. 

The big-river specialist fished 14 consecutive weekends on his favourite stretch of the waterway before his perseverance paid off and the specimen took his single 18mm Pandemic boilie hookbait. 

“The take was an absolute flyer,” Neil told Angling Times.

“It ran upstream for 40 yards and under some nearside bushes, but thankfully I pulled it free and into the net. It was the fattest barbel I’ve ever seen!”

Margin magic for a venue best carp

The old saying that ‘the margins are the best feature on the lake’ rang true for Mark Tucknott, who landed a new personal best and venue record last week.

The 55-year-old from Romford, East London, was fishing at Long Lake in Reading when he banked the water’s first-ever forty in the shape of this 41lb 2oz mirror.

It came from a marginal stalking spot that Mark had kept topped up with bait since beginning his session at the 8.5-acre venue.

He said: “I spread a kilo of mixed 12mm, 16mm and 20mm boilies over a spot not far from the bank and kept a close eye on it. On the first day a number of fish visited it, but none of them dropped down to feed. 

“I checked the spot the following morning and all the bait had gone, so I put in another five handfuls and placed my hookbait among them – a critically-balanced Manilla boilie made from a cut-down pop-up.”

Mark then endured an agonising couple of hours watching a succession of fish continuing to visit the area and feed on his spot, before eventually his buzzer screamed into life. 

“After half-an-hour, two fish drifted in and took a bait each before moving off. Twenty minutes later another good fish came in and did the same,” Mark said. 

“This continued for the next two hours, before an upper double-figure koi wolfed down most of the remaining bait.

“I introduced another two handfuls of 12mm boilies, and about an hour later I had a screaming take. A monumental battle followed before I slipped the net under the huge mirror known as Lead Head. It was an incredible session, and to bag the lake’s first forty was a huge bonus!”

Chidgey snaps up a pike best

Personal bests have tumbled in another incredible week’s pike fishing at Chew Valley Lake.

Julian Chidgey was delighted when he boated a huge 34lb 14oz pike thanks to the use of an underwater camera that he attached to his rig during a prior visit to the Somerset venue.

“I used a Waterwolf camera and I saw pike investigating and picking up my bait without giving me any indication at all,” said the local angling consultant.

“So this time I scaled down my hooks and baits to give a more delicate presentation and it worked a treat.”

Matrix man takes the win at Coleman’s

Coleman’s Cottage Fishery
Wood Lake (32 pegs)

Tight pegging on the lake knocked weights back, but Richard Bond still needed 88-8-0 to win.

Fishing the pole with pellet and maggot at various distances from peg 17, the Matrix angler kept a steady run of carp and F1s coming throughout the session.

MAP’s Richard Chapman came second with 74-8-0 from peg 9.

Result: 1 R Bond, Matrix, 88-8-0; 2 R Chapman, MAP, 74-8-0; 3 T Curd, MAP/ Bait-Tech, 55-0-0; 4 T Martin, Colemans, 54-8-0; 5 J Fensom, Harlow Angling, 52-8-0; 6 D Smith, Colemans, 51-0-0.

A 2lb Thames roach milestone

This is Martin Salter’s first-ever 2lb roach from the River Thames.

The National Campaigns Coordinator for the Angling Trust fished a stretch of the tidal Thames at Chiswick, West London, and used a groundbait feeder with worm and maggot on a size 12 hook.

He started picking up a few bream before the roach put in an appearance. Then, after switching to a lighter feeder and three red maggots on a size 14 hook, he began to connect more easily with the tentative bites and took a pair of specimen redfins topped by his first Thames two-pounder. 

“I’ve been lucky enough to have caught 2lb-plus roach from eight different rivers, but never one from my beloved River Thames,” he said.

Champ is back in final after Severn match

Angling Trust RiverFest qualifier
River Severn, Shrewsbury (55 pegs)

Reigning RiverFest champion Tom Lane has made it into this year’s final after clinching his zone on the Severn at Shrewsbury. 

Lee Harries won this one from peg 4 on the County Ground section, the DH Angling man taking a big chub on the feeder and plenty of dace on the waggler and maggot for 17-9-0.

Second, and also qualifying, was Scott Geens with 16-3-8. His catch included a 9lb barbel.

Joint third-placed Tom Lane weighed in 14-1-0 to secure his spot in the big-money contest.

Result: 1 L Harries, DH Angling, 17-9-0; 2 S Geens, Preston Innovations, 16-3-8; jt3 T Lane, Lane’s Tackle and E Warren, Preston Innovations, both 14-1-0.

49lb Mike’s Pet from day-ticket lake soon to go syndicate

Alex Woodcook realised a long-held ambition to catch one of the biggest carp in the historic Wraysbury North Lake when he slipped his net under this stunning 49lb mirror.

Alex landed the fish, which is known as Mike’s Pet, on the second morning of a two-day session at the famous fishery in Berkshire.

It was a timely capture too, because Alex had been hoping to catch one of the day-ticket lake’s biggest residents before the venue switches to syndicate status in April 2017.

He told Angling Times: “Conditions couldn’t have been more perfect, with a band of low pressure making its way over the lake. I thought to myself ‘this has to be the time!’ 

“The swim I was in, called Springate’s Point, covers a lot of water in front of an island, and running along the front of this are a number of coves created by the overhanging trees. 

“Some of these were clearer and deeper than the rest, and I figured that these were areas that had been fed on recently.”

To begin with Alex went easy on the bait, introducing around 10 Spombs of groundbait, pellets and chopped boilies. 

Over the top of this he cast a rig comprising a 5ins hooklink and a size 4 hook carrying two half sections of wafter boilies mounted blow-back style and tipped with plastic red corn. 

After receiving a bite on the first evening that ended in a hook-pull, his fortunes took a turn for the better as the second day of the trip dawned.

Alex said: “I had three bleeps on one of the rods that was locked-up to the island, struck, and found myself connected to what was clearly a powerful fish. It kited away towards open water, staying deep, and I knew it was a good fish, but it was only when I got it into the margins I realised just how big it was. 

“When I finally slipped it over the net cord and saw its huge shoulders, I knew that I had at last achieved what I’d set out to do – catch a Wraysbury chunk! 

Nick speeds to a win with 114lb Willows catch

Garbolino Lindholme Lakes Winter League (rnd 1)
Laurels, Willows and Bonsai Lakes (49 pegs)

The first of the Lindholme’s popular Winter League opens saw victory for prolific venue regular Nick Speed. 

Shimano/Dynamite-backed Nick was on peg 7 on Willows and fished the pole, both long and short on the deck with pellet, to take 114-10-0 of F1 carp to 2lb. 

In second place and heading a trio of
low tons was Barnsley Bait Co’s Les Marshall on Laurels 65, who recorded
101-9-0 of F1s and carp to hard pellet baits. 

Result: 1 N Speed, Shimano/Dynamite, 114-10-0; 2 L Marshall, Barnsley Bait Co, 101-9-0; 3 M Owen, Garbolino Lindholme, 100-12-0; 4 P Wright, Bag ‘em Matchbaits/Halkon Hunt, 100-10-0; 5 S Mazza, Garbolino Lindholme, 96-3-0; 6 B Fisk, Garbolino Lindholme, 90-9-0.

Thousands bid at Bob Church’s tackle auction

Bob Church admitted to being ‘shocked and ‘overwhelmed’ after a collection of his prized tackle sold for thousands at auction.

Angling Times joined the legendary angler and his wife Jeanette during the recent Sporting and Country Pursuits sale at JP Humbert Auctioneers in Northants, which saw more than 50 lots of Bob’s gear go under the hammer.

Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert had a tough task keeping up with the number of bids as vintage rods, reels and collections of hand-tied flies turned heads in the busy saleroom full of collectors looking for their own slice of angling history.

But it was the volume of online bids from as far away as Australia and Switzerland that surprised and excited both Bob (MBE) and theon-site auctioneers.

The most popular lots included a gold-plated Mitchell reel made specially for Bob, an Avington
Mk II 9ft fly rod, and a three-tier fly box containing around 1,000 flies – which together made £1,160.

Speaking exclusively to Angling Times on the day, Bob explained his emotions during a memorable afternoon in the auction room.

“Funnily enough this is the first auction I’ve ever been to, so it was very exciting to watch and hear what was going on,” Bob said. 

“Although there weren’t that many in the room, those on the internet were constantly trying to outbid each other and Jonathan did a fantastic job keeping up with them. 

“This made the bidding very exciting, and I was overwhelmed to see the amount of interest in my tackle – which played a huge part in my angling career. 

 “It’s tackle that I would never use again so I’m just happy it’s going to help other people with their own fishing.” 

Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert wasn’t surprised at the amount of interest in Bob’s tackle, which made a total of £3,140.20, and believes it’s his reputation as one of the world’s most influential anglers that led to such frantic bidding. 

Mr Humbert said: “Bob obviously has a huge presence in the angling community. This was highlighted when we started to receive bids from people in Canada, Sweden and Tasmania. 

“All his items are unrepeatable rarities that are a must-have for any fly-fishing follower.

“My personal favourite was the three-tier fly box which is simply fishing gold and was the party-piece of the sale. They’re flies that Bob used all over the world throughout the last 60 years so it’s no wonder they sold for as much as they did.” 

The fly box held more than 1,000 flies – some of which caught championship-winning fish – and was purchased by a local Northamptonshire man for £880. 

Speaking anonymously, he said: “I bought the fly box for my son – who has not long taken up fly fishing but spends many hours at Pitsford.

“I’m sure these new, exquisite imitations will give him an edge during his next visit, and he’ll never have to buy a fly again!”

Bob has suffered from Parkinson’s disease for the last 19 years and is donating part of the money raised to the Parkinson’s UK Charity, which has been helping to combat the illness for 50 years.

Bob concluded: “I want to put something back into the charity that has been fighting the disease I’ve been living with for nearly 20 years.

“My wife Jeanette has aided and put up with me throughout that whole time, too, so I would like to buy her something for her garden – she truly deserves it.” 

Big payday in Ireland for match ace Mark Pollard

Mark Pollard finished a mammoth month-long Irish festival campaign almost £10k better off after claiming a quartet of top-four finishes on a wide range of venues across the Irish Sea.

The Matrix/Dynamite Baits angler, one of the most consistent matchmen in the UK, stayed on after the recent World Pairs in mid-September to fish the Horseshoe Festival, Fermanagh Cup, Cootehill Festival and Muckno Autumn event, weighing in with a win, a second and two fourths.

The fishing was far from easy, with clear water and cagey fish presenting the ultimate test.

‘Polly’ kicked off with fourth place in the 65-peg Horseshoe on the Erne system around Enniskillen, and the same venue then hosted the 120-angler Fermanagh Cup, where he took second. Next Mark headed south to Cootehill and won the 105-peg event, before signing off with fourth at Muckno.

“The fishing was diverse,” he said. “The Erne system is a vast expanse of wild water with migratory fish, whereas the southern lakes are landlocked and a little more like what we’re used to in the UK.

“On the Erne the fish came in spells and when you caught two or three you were rubbing your hands thinking ‘here we go’, only to then not get a bite for half an hour! The clear water made the roach and hybrids cagey, while in the south, once you caught you kept on catching all day.” 

Tactics across the four contests were varied, and Mark revealed how one day the waggler worked best, while on another it would be short lining at 13m on the pole, followed by fishing the feeder 24 hours later.

“The bait bill wasn’t cheap and when you’re fishing for wild fish on big lakes, you need a lot of it to keep them in the peg,” he explained. “I’d feed up to four pints of casters and six bags of groundbait, but if you want to win big money on these festivals, you can’t do it on the cheap.

“It was also important to make the right decision on when to change methods. Typically I’d start on the feeder to let me feed up the pole line and then come off the tip after 40 minutes unless I was catching well. That was the good thing about the venues – the fish told you what would work and what wouldn’t.”

‘Carp Wars’ will have all anglers ‘glued to the TV’

A bumper year for fishing on TV is guaranteed with the launch of a brand new show.

Big-name stars from the world of specimen angling will feature in the highly-anticipated Carp Wars series, to be shown on Sky Sports every week starting from December 1.

Carp fishing legends Dave Lane and Ian Chillcott are two of the big names on show as the anglers battle it out in a host of action-packed, head-to-head matches. 

Dozens of aspiring carp anglers also entered an online competition to be one of the six involved in Carp Wars, with teenager Harry Pratt winning the opportunity to compete in front of the cameras.

Points will be awarded for the biggest fish and largest overall weight in each contest, and the scores will be totted up after 15 rounds of action to decide the two finalists.

The second series ofThe Big Fish Off and Monster Carp are angling shows that have won rave reviews after they hit our screens earlier in the year, and Fishing TV, the creators of Carp Wars, are confident their latest project will be equally popular. 

Commercial director Ed Burgass said: “There is nothing else like this out there, and we believe the unique format will have anglers glued to their TVs.

“We approached Sky Sports to see if they’d be interested, and within minutes of watching an episode they agreed it was a great show that was perfect for their channels.

“It will give anglers an insight into the minds of some of the greatest carp anglers in the land and the battle to become champion is certain to go right down to the wire.”

The series will run weekly until the end of March, with the final being staged in France at the famous Etang le Fays fishery where the champion will walk away with £3,000.

Even at this early stage, discussions are already underway for a second series of Carp Wars. 

Britain’s first 70lb carp banked

This is the picture of the UK’s first 70lb carp.

The record-breaking specimen, known as Big Rig, tipped the scales at 71lb 4oz and was caught by Robby Harrison from The Avenue Fishery in Shropshire.

It’s the same fish that recently beat the current British best of 68lb 10oz at a weight of 69lb 3oz, meaning that it’s put on 2lb 1oz since it was caught by Tom Doherty just over six weeks ago.

It’s Robby’s first year on the syndicate and he made carp fishing history when he smashed his own personal best that stood at 41lb with Big Rig that took a balanced 16mm Mainline Hybrid boilie.

“This is like the angling version of winning the lottery,” said Robby, from Liverpool.

“One of my fellow anglers helped me net the fish, but he nudged it with the frame twice and it powered off on both occasions.” 

“I told him to sink the net, but neither of us knew which fish it was so it was the sheer depth of its body that was colliding with the net.

“I didn’t have a head torch, so I didn’t see it straight away, but when I did I was blown away…I’ve never seen anything like it.

It’s a specimen that has been hand-reared by Avenue owner and boss of RH Fisheries Rob Hales, whose intentions of growing record-breaking fish have caused controversy within the sport.

But Robby agrees with others who believe that what Rob does is provide ‘ordinary’ anglers with the chance of catching the carp of their dreams without going abroad.

“I’m just a normal angler who wants to catch the biggest fish that I can,” Robby added. 

“I don’t care what people say because I’ve caught a fish that filled me with emotions and excitement that made me feel like a boy again. Anyone who’s got a problem with that has to remember that it’s just fishing at the end of the day.”

Massive perch on a £1 lure!

A lure bought for £1 from a car boot sale is to thank for one of the biggest-ever hauls of specimen perch.

John Deprieelle and Ben Humber boated 30 perch over the 3lb mark, topped by a 3lb 14oz specimen, during a day at the incredible Chew Valley Reservoir.

The Somerset venue, widely regarded as the UK’s best predator water because of its stocks of huge pike, proved that it holds much more when the pair switched to targeting perch after a pikeless morning.

“By 1pm we hadn’t had a touch from a pike so we changed our attack, and that’s when the day turned into the session of a lifetime,” John told Angling Times.

“Initially the odd perch turned up, but then I decided to give a little lure that I found at a car boot sale a try – and it just went off big time.

“They just couldn’t get enough of this thing – you could see the bow waves made by the big perch as they fought to grab hold of the lure as I was retrieving it back to the boat. The transformation was incredible.”

By the time they returned to the fishing lodge, John, from Exeter, and Ben, a Fox Rage consultant from Bristol, had shared in the capture of more than 40 big perch.

“Ben had taken a few fish, but then he found a lure in his collection that was as similar as possible to what I was using, and from then on his catch rate improved no end,” John continued. “We had numerous double hook-ups, follows and missed fish too, as well as six pike to mid-double figures. 

“It really was incredible and we won’t be forgetting it in a hurry.”

The haul didn’t come as much of a surprise to John Harris, who is Fisheries and Recreations Officer at the Bristol Water-controlled Chew Valley Lake.

He is fully aware of the perch potential of the vast venue and says there’s every possibility it could contain a specimen that beats the British record, currently standing at 6lb 3oz.

“I would be so bold to say that this venue is more likely to produce a perch record than a record pike,” said John.

“This is one of the best catches of perch we’ve had on lures, but we have massive catches of them every year, especially to those fishing with flies. I’ve had loads of them over 3lb on that tactic, and the vast perch stocks prove just what an incredible venue this is.”

Chew Valley Reservoir has produced more than 40 pike over the 30lb mark since it opened for its annual predator fishing season, and the biggest reported so far is a 39-pounder.

Vote for the best of 2016!

The prestigious Angling Times National Angling Awards are back, and the power is in your hands to decide the winners for 2016.
It’s been a great year, with countless incredible catches, huge match fishing achievements and historic TV moments.
In a bid to reward the best in the business for their sterling contribution to fishing in 2016, Angling Times is now calling on every reader to vote for their favourites in 28 categories.
It’s been a tough job to decide the shortlists in each fiercely-contested category, which include Match Angler of the Year, Specimen Angler of the Year and River of the Year – but now it’s up to you to decide.
Editor-in-chief Steve Fitzpatrick said: “I’ve been blown away by how good this year has been for our sport. Every day I come into the office I find out that something new and exciting has happened.
“Sometimes it’s a giant fish that’s been landed, or a brilliant TV show that’s been released. 
“So much hard work has been put in by people, but now’s the time for you to vote and give them the national recognition they deserve.
“The National Angling Awards has been running for several years and, while there are other similar schemes, none of them has the prestige that this one has.
“All the nominees are excited to be in with a chance, but now it’s all down to our readers to make them the winners.” 
It’s been an equally impressive year in the tackle market as well. Hundreds of innovative products have hit the shelves, with new poles, rods, terminal tackle and baits from the biggest names within the industry.
Tackle editor Mark Sawyer has been gauging the mood within the industry ahead of the awards, and said: “I have been incredibly impressed by the quality of tackle released by the top manufacturers this year and now is the time to reward those who have gone above and beyond with their innovations.
“I have spent a lot of time talking to staff from each company in recent weeks and there is a lot of excitement about the National Angling Awards. They are all determined to win and gain the trophies that go with that success.
“If you’ve bought a piece of tackle this year that has transformed your fishing, make sure you vote to give it a great chance of becoming a 2016 champion.”
Readers who register to vote will be instantly entered into a draw that will provide them with a chance of winning one of four £100 vouchers to spend with tackle shop giant Chapmans Angling.

Have your say below!

Switch of swim leads to mirror carp ‘Scar’

James Butcher has continued his memorable autumn on Kingsmead One lake by banking the big mirror known as ‘The Scar’ at 47lb 10oz.

Just a few weeks after making a bumper ten-fish haul from the Berkshire venue, the East London rod again got among the bigger mirrors in the 30-acre lake on the second night of a four-day session.

Once again, keen observation played a key role in the capture.

“On the first night I fished a swim where the fish had been showing when I arrived, but by the morning they had done the off. I saw a few shows in another part of the lake, so moved my kit round and, as I knew the spots, I flicked the rods out and put out 10 baits around each,” said James.

“After three hours I decided to give it some bait, introducing 1.5kg over each rod to get the fish grazing. As it got dark the fish began to show again, and I sat up listening. Eventually I crashed out, only to be woken by liners on my right hand rod. The tip soon pulled down but when I struck, there was nothing there,” he added.

“I recast a little shorter and got back into the bag and the next thing I knew the right hand rod pulled up tight and I was playing a really heavy carp. It beat me up big time for about 15 minutes or so before I could net it. On the scales it went 47lb 10oz. Happy days!”

‘Dave’ at 55lb tops mega haul from day-ticket fishery

A last minute-decision to switch lakes paid off in handsome style for Steve Wright after he went on to bank four stunning big carp, topped by a 55lb mirror.

After making the journey from his Hinckley, Leicestershire home to Bluebell Lakes in Northants, the 63-year old was intending to fish the venue’s Sandmartin Lake. However, this changed after a quick chat with the owner of Bluebell Lakes, Tony Bridgefoot. 

Steve said: “He told me that there weren’t many anglers on Swan Lake. I didn’t really fancy it as there had been no carp out in the previous nine days, but a mate who was fishing over there convinced me to give it a try for the night. I dropped into a peg halfway down one bank, in the hope of catching them as they moved up and down the lake.”

With just two tench to show for his efforts over the next 24 hours, Steve was beginning to question his choice of lake, before a bite out of the blue signalled a major change in fortunes.

“I was thinking of moving and I’d already reeled one rod when one of the others screamed off. The fish made it into a weedbed but soon came out into open water, and I felt the rod tip bump so I knew it was still on,” said Steve.

“When I got the fish around 20 yards from the bank it surfaced and I recognised it as one known as Dave. On the bank it tipped the scales at 55lb on the nose.”

At 4am the next morning Steve’s session then got even better when he landed a 40lb 4oz mirror, followed by a 32lb 4oz common an hour later and a 39lb mirror later that same evening. The first of the trio was a new ‘forty’ for the lake, so Steve was allowed to give it a name… which he promptly did, calling the big mirror ‘Stevie’!”

39 barbel ‘doubles’!

Six friends enjoyed a barbel fishing trip to remember last week, landing an astonishing 39 double-figure fish topped by a 14lb 1oz specimen.

The amazing haul was made by pals Gary Whelan, John Mott, Shaun Swift, Glen Drummond, Phil Marsden and Dean Stewart during a two-day visit to the renowned Collingham stretch of the River Trent.  

The lads, who are backed by GW Rig Solutions, used 5oz-6oz leads or swimfeeders, 2ft-long braided hooklengths and Dave Mallin pungent squid boilies on the hook.

They also banked numerous fish under 10lb during the action-packed session, but it was John who bagged the biggest of the entire trip on the second day.

Big bream weights at ‘natural’ matches

The boom in natural-water match fishing shows no sign of stopping with big catches continuing to be landed up and down the country. 

Even though we’re now nearing the end of October, weights recorded in recent events on lakes and rivers have been highly impressive.

Up at Carr Mill Dam in Merseyside, anglers enjoyed a good day out at the St Helens Tackle & Bait Cancer Research Charity bash, with the kind-hearted rods raising over £1,000 for the cause. 

Wigan matchman Gary Ainscough won the enormous 126-peg event with 37-7-0 of bream and skimmers using Method feeder and pellet tactics from peg 101.

And in Scotland, Loch Ken hosted a two-day event where distance feeder tactics were the order of the day. 

Mac Stevens emerged triumphant with a combined 47-2-0 total, after winning the opening day of action with 27-2-0 of roach and skimmers. Phil Murphy topped day two with 34-4-0.

In the East Midlands, Ferry Meadows, near Peterborough, staged the Steel City Classic, where the strong field was topped by seasoned campiagner and patriarch of the Ringer dynasty Geoff Ringer with a superb 211-8-0 total, the bulk of which (148-6-0 of bream) was taken on day one on feeder and worm tactics from peg 114 on Overton Lake. On day two Dave Lawrence bagged 140-6-0 of bream on the feeder off Gunwade Lake to take second overall.

Meanwhile, the latest RiverFest qualifier visited a legendary, but now little-used match haunt, the Warwickshire Avon around Stratford, where Martin Ward booked his place in the final with 49-14-0 of chub on waggler and maggot tactics. 

Nearby Alcester tackle dealer Alan Stephens also qualifed, with 25-2-0 of chub on the float for second spot.

Roach tops mixed bag

There are few more enjoyable methods of catching fish than by trotting a stick float down a river, as Adam Fisher did to bank this fine roach last week.

A day trip to the River Itchen proved fruitful for the Angling Dreams boss, who caught bream, chub and sea trout as well as the immaculate 1lb 10oz roach. 

“I knew it was a good fish so until I got it to the surface, my heart was in my mouth. Once it was finally in the net I wasso relieved,” said Adam, from Herefordshire. 

He took the roach on a single red maggot, mounted on a size 18 Drennan Carp Maggot hook attached to 3lb line.

River Wye barbel record smashed

The long-standing River Wye barbel record has been smashed with the capture of a superb fish weighing 15lb 4oz.

Leonard Skyrme banked the historic specimen – which beats the river record of 14lb 9oz that’s stood for 13 years – when he fished a stretch near Symonds Yat.

As well as landing the biggest ever barbel landed from the in-form waterway, the 40-year-old from South Wales went on to complete the biggest ever brace of Wye barbel after slipping his net under a second huge barbel weighing 13lb 2oz later in the same session.

“The biggest of the two gave me one the most savage bites I’ve ever experienced – if I hadn’t been right by the rod it would have been in the water,” said Leonard.

“I thought I’d set a new record for the stretch I was fishing, but when I found out that the current river record is 14lb 9oz I was gobsmacked. It hasn’t sunk in.”

Leonard, who has only recently returned to coarse fishing after spending many years targeting game fish, used a cage feeder packed with pellets alongside a 14mm halibut pellet hookbait hair-rigged to a size 10 hook. He also laid down a bed of hempseed before casting out. 

“Before this incredible session my barbel personal best stood at 11lb 6oz, so to beat it twice from the Wye is something very special,” Leonard continued.

“The other anglers on the stretch couldn’t believe what had happened either. It was just one of those sessions that I don’t think I’m going to repeat!” 

The capture was witnessed by two fellow anglers and the barbel was weighed on two different sets of scales.