Roach best in a flood

Olly Luker trotted a single maggot on the River Itchen to net this superb 2lb 5oz roach.

While others struggled for a bite on the Hampshire waterway, Olly took a mobile approach and worked his float close to slacks, bends and overhanging trees.

His personal best was beaten on a rig made from a 3lb mainline, a 1lb 2oz bottom and a size 20 hook.

“The conditions were terrible and the river was about to burst its banks,” said Olly, from Wiltshire. “So I knew trotting straight down the river just wasn’t going to work. On the other hand, staying mobile worked a treat.”

Is this the best Trent barbel haul of all time?

Schoolboy has achieved what many seasoned specimen anglers can only dream of – hauling in an incredible 19 double-figure barbel in a single session.

The remarkable catch, which totalled over 200lb, was made by eight year-old Rio Kassim, who was fishing the prolific Collingham Weir day-ticket stretch of the River Trent in Nottinghamshire.

Accompanied by his dad, Leon, and two friends, the youngster bagged 20 fish in total, only one of which failed to make the 10lb mark. They included four over 13lb, topped off by a personal-best 13lb 10oz specimen.

Even more amazingly Rio, who had only fished a river twice before in his life, achieved his memorable feat using a meagre three pints of maggots. 

The catch, which will no doubt raise eyebrows in the angling community, also left his dad in total shock. 

Leon told Angling Times: “It was just one of those days when everything went to plan and the tip just kept wrapping round – it was incredible. 

“By the end Rio was exhausted and could barely stand up in the gravel, but he put all of us to shame that day.” 

The group arrived on the river early in the morning to ensure they could bag swims, and it didn’t take long for the action to start. 

Just half-an-hour into the trip, Rio’s rod was looping over as the first barbel took a liking to his maggot feeder set-up with double maggot hookbait. Eleven hours later the sun was setting on a day the youngster will never forget.

“The only problem is, the catch has spoiled him now. 

“He will expect the fishing to be as good as that every time we go. 

“He will be trying to better that haul of huge barbel for the rest of his life,” added Leon. 

Two barbel for 31lb

This is a picture of one of the biggest braces of Thames barbel ever landed.

The fish, weighing 16lb 6oz and 14lb 10oz, were taken by Londoner John Llewellyn from an unnamed stretch of the waterway. The Lone Angler-backed big-fish man tempted them on paste-wrapped KS15 balanced Wafter boilies, after prebaiting a swim for a few days. 

John only decided to go barbel fishing after carefully watching both the weather and lunar forecasts. He told Angling Times: “I was aware that a low pressure system was coming in at end of the week, and I also knew it would be just a few days before the full moon – which is a key moment in the lunar cycle when it comes to fish feeding.”

John used a size 6 hook and 15in hooklink to make his catch.

Off to a barbel flyer

Ant Molyneux’s debut session on the River Trent resulted in this 14lb 4oz barbel.

The Avid Carp-backed angler introduced a bed of Code Red boilies on arrival, but that tactic failed to gain a response in the first 24 hours.

Ultimately, though, his patience was rewarded and his alarms screamed into life when the barbel took his glugged boilie hookbait, and after a dogged battle the fish was in the net.

“I instantly knew I’d beaten my previous best of 12lb 14oz and I am already planning my next trip to the Trent,” explained Ant.

His winning rig incorporated a 3oz K-Grip lead and a 12lb Korum Barbel Line hooklink to a size 10 Xpert Power hook.

8lb chub tops a week of fantastic catches

The capture of countless huge chub from rivers across the UK has proved that now’s the time to beat your personal best.

Alfie Naylor had every reason to celebrate when he banked the fish of a lifetime in the shape of an 8lb chub from the River Trent.

The specialist from Newark has enjoyed an incredible season so far on the waterway, and his run of form continued when he turned his attentions away from barbel and on to chub.

He opted for a groundbait feeder packed with hemp, pellets and the base mix that formed his 110% Baits Red Ball Plum boilie hookbait, which was attached to the back of a size 8 hook with a short hair.

“I honestly thought it was a common carp. This is by far the biggest chub I’ve ever seen,” Alfie told Angling Times.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that this stretch of the Trent holds a British record fish. 

“It was the best chub venue on the whole river in the 1980s and it’s back to its best. I’ve barely scratched the surface of its potential.”

Elsewhere, a lump of luncheon meat fished over hempseed proved the right combination for Gary Hickling, who banked a new club record 7lb 10oz chub from the Great Ouse.

It sets a new best for Vauxhall Angling Club and was landed from the River Great Ouse by Gary when he fished upstream of Radwell at the stretch of river adjoining the Sharnbrook complex.

A simple leger rig and a bait cast beneath an overhanging tree tempted the fish that beats the previous club record by 2oz.

Moving further south, another angler to smash his personal best for the species was specialist Stuart Davison.

He fished a short session on a Christchurch Angling Club-controlled stretch of the Dorset Stour to bank an impressive specimen that took a legered boilie hookbait and topped the scales at 7lb 3oz.

“I caught this fish on a really short session at dusk. It just goes to show that you don’t need to spend hours on the bank,” said Stuart. 

The River Nene in Cambridgeshire has been in incredible form this season, and Peterborough & District Angling Association bailiff Mark Smith banked his biggest-ever chub while fishing a day-ticket stretch.

It weighed 6lb 3oz and was caught on a Sticky Baits Krill boilie.

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!”

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.

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.

UK’s rivers alive with huge roach

Experts are predicting a red-hot autumn of river roach sport following a flurry of stunning catches across the country.

Silverfish have made an incredible comeback on running waterways, and venue insiders are now claiming that sport will soon be better than ever before.

Several successful breeding seasons, Environment Agency stockings and localised restoration projects have all played a role in the transformation, and a positive weather forecast suggests the shoals are all set to feed in force.

Lancashire rod Alan Barnes included a 2lb 8oz roach in his latest haul from the River Ribble, pole fishing hemp for a new personal best.

The former Angling Times journalist has banked five roach over 2lb in the last 18 months, and is convinced the action will now step up another gear. He said: “I am certain we will have great roach sport this autumn. Several factors are helping roach stocks flourish, and one of them is the huge boom in barbel fishing. All the pellets going into our rivers are helping make roach bigger.

“I commonly hear of barbel anglers catching 2lb-plus roach after dark on 8mm and 12mm pellets. I think they have thrived on neglect and the shoals have regrouped while anglers have ignored them in favour of other species.”

Kent specimen angler Scott Cordingley has caught countless quality roach but hit a career highlight during his latest session with a personal-best 2lb 2oz fish from his local River Stour.

With limited time to wet a line, Scott made the short trip to the bank and legered breadflake in a deep hole – and soon got a lot more than he bargained for. He said: “The river is packed with roach but I’ve only had a few over 1lb to a best of 1lb 14oz. I never expected a fish this big.

“I’ve been trying for years to land one over 2lb and it’s great to finally make that mark. This is proof that it is definitely time to head out if a pb roach is on your agenda.”

Not just specimen anglers, but matchmen too have cashed in on the latest roach action.

A two-day festival on The Norfolk Broads system saw 68 anglers share over 2,100lb of silvers between them, with 36lb of roach the top individual catch.

Organiser Tony Gibbons told Angling Times: “The system is absolutely teeming with roach, and the sport we experienced during the tournament was absolutely incredible.

“We had 26 weights over 20lb, of mainly roach, on day two. I can see the action getting even better in the coming weeks.”

Similar levels of success have been achieved on both the Thames and Trent, with numerous 25lb-plus nets of roach being taken by both club and open match competitors.

River barbel records and personal bests are smashed across the UK

River records and personal bests have been smashed again as Britain’s barbel continue their autumn feeding spree.

Best of the week fell to Peterborough’s Martin Gray, whose 17lb 8oz fish from the River Nene ended a five-year quest to beat his previous pb of 16lb 10oz.

He introduced a handful of boilies in the central channel and cast a running rig with a home-made 12 mm boilie over the top.

“The bite was really tentative, but then experience told me that I was into something special as the barbel made its way upstream,”said Martin.

“There’s every possibility that the big fish in here could top 20lb this coming winter.” 

On the River Derwent, a run of 12 blanks ended for Ray Williamson when he landed a 17lb barbel.

The Derby angler targeted an Earl of Harrington’s AC stretch, snaring the giant fish just 3ft from the bank on a CC Moore Pacific Tuna boilie. His 2oz feeder rig incorporated 4ft of fluoro hooklength and was backed up with loose offerings. 

Said Ray: “After all those blanks you start to question your rigs and baits, so I just went back to the same tactic that caught me a 16-pounder from the same river last year – and it worked a treat.” 

The second huge barbel from the in-form Derwent is a club record-breaking 16lb 10oz.

Pellets and boilies are what most anglers take with them to catch big barbel these days, but Phil Needham showed that the traditional approach can still pay.

The Derby Angling Federation bailiff fished his own club’s stretch of the river, where he tempted the prized specimen using a small cube of meat after creating a bed of hemp and caster via a bait dropper. 

Phil, who set the club’s barbel record with a 15lb 12oz fish last season, used a 1½oz flat lead, 10lb fluoro mainline and a short 8lb hooklength of the same material to catch the specimen.  

Most anglers can only dream of catching two 16lb barbel in one week, but that’s exactly what
Matt Hughes managed to achieve with the capture of two specimens weighing 16lb 6oz and 16lb 4oz.

Fishing an unnamed stretch of the River Trent, the Sutton Coldfield angler also netted four other doubles during two arm-aching sessions spent in a swim where he had caught fish to over 16lb last season. 

After arriving to find a fairly low and clear river, Matt began his session by feeding three handfuls of boilies.

He then cast out out two rods with 4oz gripper leads on Nash weedclip systems tied to Korda Ntrap semi-stiff hooklengths with size 6 ESP Cryogen hooks.

To keep the fish interested he fed around six chopped and whole boilies every half-hour, presenting a whole version with popped-up sweetcorn on the hair.

Darran Goulder had every reason to smile about his first-ever barbel from the River Thames, a fish that scaled 13lb 10oz.

A carp fishing friends said that he’d been catching barbel, so the Shimano consultant from Kent decided to target them. But he didn’t expect a fish like this during his first evening session.

It was fooled with two 15mm Dynamite Baits Spicy Shrimp & Prawn boilies fished in conjunction with a size 8 hook.

Sunset specimen is worth the wait

Catch pictures don’t come much better than this stunning image of Gary Johnson and his huge River Nene barbel.

It weighed 14lb 12oz, and was proof that good things come to those who wait. After steadily baiting a weedy gravel run throughout the afternoon, the specialist from Nassington, Northants, resisted the urge to cast out until an hour from sunset.

His ploy paid off as the fish took a John Baker dumbell boilie hair-rigged on a size 10 hook.

First-ever barbel weighs in at 16lb!

A debut barbel fishing session produced two fish with a combined weight of more than 30lb for Scott Smith.

The 24-year-old, from Crowmarsh in Oxfordshire, became the envy of many when his first-ever of the species topped the scales at 16lb and was quickly followed by a 15lb 4oz barbel .

He targeted a local stretch of the River Thames, hair-rigging a Sticky Baits Krill boilie in conjunction with a PVA bag of boilies and pellets.

“I’ve never caught a barbel before so to catch two was brilliant, but I wasn’t expecting anything of this size,” said Scott.

“My mate, who knows all about fishing for barbel and carp on running water, gave me some tips which I think really helped me, plus this was the first time I’d tried fishing my own rigs. They were nothing fancy at all because I’m still learning.

“I really can’t believe my luck because I wouldn’t have caught the second barbel if I hadn’t decided to leave one of my rods out for five more minutes as I packed away the rest of my gear.

“It’s by far the best session on a river I’ve ever had.”

Up until this incredible catch, Scott’s biggest river fish was a 5lb chub. The simple rig that proved the downfall of his two barbel consisted of a Korda 20lb N-Trap coated braid hooklink attached to a size 6 hook.

Pre-baiting pays off as big chub go on summer spree

Our rivers are producing their best big chub sport of the summer so far.

The first such fish scaled 7lb 2oz and was caught by river fishing fanatic Alfie Naylor, who makes the most of living close to the Trent, one of the UK’s most
in-form and sought-after venues. 

The commitment needed to catch the biggest specimens was clear when he fed half-a-kilo of 110% Baits Redball plum boilies into his swim for several evenings before finally wetting a line.

Then, after finishing work, the specialist from Newark, Notts, headed down to see if his carefully-laid trap had tempted one of the resident chub into the area. His answer came just seconds after he dropped his rod into the rest.

“I’d been on the bank for less than five minutes, and my left-hand rod ripped off just after the boilie hookbait hit the deck,” Alfie told Angling Times.

“I’ve had a run of double-figure barbel on the river and some big carp, so to smash my chub personal best is incredible.”

He’s since been back to the river, backing up his ‘seven’ with another chub weighing 6lb.

Richard Hart was also celebrating the capture of a huge chub just a few weeks after beating his pb for the species. This time round it was a 7lb fish from a Midlands river for the angler from Heanor, Derbyshire.

“I’d been trotting pellets for about two hours when I decided to move,” he said. 

“I was getting my gear together when I looked back to see what I thought was a barbel of around 8lb move across the river to the far bank.

“I decided to give a legered lobworm a go and bounce it around under the tree where the fish headed – and sure enough, about five minutes later I got a great drop-back bite.

“This fish made my former personal best from a few weeks back look very small in comparison.”

Boom time for river fishing

It's shaping up to be a record year for anglers returning to running water venues.

Sales of traditional river tackle have risen by 200 per cent, and clubs are having to print more books to meet the demand. 

With many of the nation’s top waterways now offering some of the best sport seen in decades, more and more are joining clubs and celebrating the variety of sport to be had there.

The trend has seen a welcome spike in demand for floatfishing tackle, and one manufacturer is reporting a huge increase in sales of its centrepin reels. 

TF Gear’s direct marketing manager, Alan Crawford-Plane, has revealed that sales of reels of this type have doubled since the company began selling them back in 2012. 

He told Angling Times: “Over the last couple of years we have noticed a big hike in sales of river fishing gear, and none more so than our range of ’pins. 

“We started with just one model but as demand rose we’ve had to increase that to four, to offer anglers of all pockets a choice. 

“The increase isn’t just because anglers are choosing traditional tackle, but because more people are back on the rivers. This has been reflected in strong sales of items like barbel rods too.”

It’s not just running water fishing tackle that has experienced a huge rise in sales. 

Dozens of angling clubs who offer stretches of river are seeing new members flocking to join. 

One such club is Nottingham Federation of Anglers. 

The club is going through one of its biggest recruitment drives in recent history, and club secretary Ian McLaughlin said: “We have sold more books this year than at any time in the last decade… so much so that we needed a reprint this season. 

“We run several sections of the River Trent and because our venues are fishing well and we’ve spent money improving access to them there’s been a noticeable increase in numbers. I think that’s true of many other clubs too. It’s great for us and the sport.”

These sentiments were echoed by river specialist and Angling Times columnist Dave Harrell.

 “It’s great to see more anglers coming back to the rivers,” he said.

“We’ve had a few good spawning years recently and this has seen sport improve dramatically on UK rivers.

“This, along with the high cost of fishing commercials, is helping to encourage anglers back to running water. 

“Because of this there has been a noticeable increase in the number of matches held on rivers in the last couple of seasons, and Riverfest has sold out again this year. It’s been so popular I have decided to begin planning a second pairs-style competition for 2017.

“It’s an exciting time to be a river angler, and fishing this year is just going to get better and better.”

18lb 13oz zander from the Severn

The River Severn has produced a 18lb 13oz zander, Angling Times can exclusively reveal.
Current British record-holder for the species, James Benfield, legered a bleak deadbait just a few feet from the bank on the famous waterway to lure the fish.
The capture comes just nine years after the 28-year-old from Malvern, Worcs, made history by banking the 21lb 5oz British best from the same venue.
It was the slightest tap on the rod-tip that signalled the bite from the shy predator during his latest session on the rver.
“These zander are very timid, so I use my 1.45lb test curve rod like a quivertip and strike at any movement. If I hadn’t been fishing like this and relied on a bite alarm the fish might have ejected the bait before I’d have even known about it,” James told Angling Times.
His latest specimen is the highlight of a productive start to his 2016 river campaign which has produced many fish to around 7lb – but James admitted that the 18-pounder came as a shock.
“Having caught lots of small zander since the start of the season, I knew that this fish was something special straight away.
“Then these huge boils starting appearing on the surface and I just wanted it in the net. My heart was in my mouth,” he said.
“To have the record and then to catch another huge fish like this is beyond words.
“I fully appreciate what an achievement it is to land a double-figure zander, let alone two for 40lb.”
A simple running rig made up with 12lb mainline, a 3oz lead and a single size 6 treble was the winning set-up for James, who went on to bank four other zander on the day.

After 30 years on the Dove, switch to Trent sees 16lb best barbel

Incredible barbel sport on the nation’s rivers continued this week, with a host of huge fish hitting the bank.
Respected specimen all-rounder John Davey hit the jackpot on his very first visit to the River Trent with a 16lb 14oz personal-best barbel.
The 69-year-old, from Stoke-on-Trent, has fished the River Dove for over 30 years, but decided to give the in-form waterway a try.
His running rig was baited with a 16 mm Sticky Baits Krill boilie, and the hookbait was accompanied by a stringer of matching baits.
The offering was soon picked up by the specimen, that beats his previous pb by 1lb.
“This is an incredible fish for this time of the year, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it goes 19lb in the winter,” said John.
“At first I thought it was a bream, as it just plodded around, but as soon as it got into the deep water under my feet I realised how wrong my first prediction was.
“I was using a pretty big net, but you wouldn’t have thought it because the fish’s huge frame arched over in the mesh.
“It’s taken a long time to get on the Trent, but I’m getting back down there in the next few days after this,” he added.
Another angler to smash his personal best was Craig Horton, who banked two fish that many can only dream of.
Prebaiting a stretch of Farnham Angling Society’s River Loddon paid dividends as he won the battle with a 16lb specimen. He fooled it with hair-rigged pellets on a simple running rig.
It was the same tactics, but this time on a pressured free stretch of the Dorset Stour, that saw the angler – from Basingstoke, Hants – complete an incredible barbel double by slipping the net under a pristine 14lb 11oz barbel.
“These were my first two sessions of the river season, and they turned out to be my most memorable ever,” he said.