A farewell to the river season!

As the river season comes to an end we take a look back over the last week and bring to you some of the truly amazing catches that anglers have had. Hopefully some of these catches will inspire you to get out and do some river fishing when the waters re-open later on in the year. 

Pike angler Jason Pardoe got the shock of his life when he hooked into a 17lb 2oz zander. The Sheffield angler was kayak fishing on a stretch of the River Trent when the huge predator took hold of his 12ins gold and black Sovereign Lures swimbait. The fish was one of three zeds Jason caught during the session, including another beast of 12lb. 

He told Angling Times: “The lure I was using was chosen to select only the biggest pike in the river, so to hook three zander like this was just shocking, although very welcome,” he said. 

Big-fish specialist Neil Wayte had a session to remember on the River Thames when he banked a 7lb 8oz chub, backed up with fish weighing 6lb 13oz, 6lb 11oz, 6lb 8oz, 6lb, 5lb 8oz, 5lb 4oz and 5lb. All were taken on either legered cheesepaste or MAD Baits Pandemic boilies.

Matt Marlow smashed his barbel personal best with a superb 16lb 4oz fish that was taken as the River Trent fined down after recent rains. It was caught on a paste-wrapped boilie, and beats the 14lb 8oz previous personal best that the Madbaits and Sticky Sharp Tackle-backed angler has been trying to improve on for two seasons.

Barbel fishing ace Paul Floyd braved gale-force winds and torrential rain for 36 hours before getting the take he was waiting for – from a 15lb 6oz specimen. The Cult Baits consultant netted it from a stretch of the Warwickshire Avon during a two-day trip to the Midlands waterway.  The barbel, which fell just 1lb short of the record for the venue, was tempted using a 30ins Combi rig with a size 12 hook baited with red maggots. 

Stewart Harris followed up the landing of his 7lb 7oz chub last week with the capture of a superb 7lb 15oz fish. The Londoner bagged it from a stretch of the River Great Ouse using a running leger rig with a trimmed-down RG Baits The Formula boilie wrapped in matching paste. 

Richard Easom’s latest adventure on the River Trent proved fruitful after he banked a stunning personal best-equalling chub of 7lb 3oz. The 3FootTwitch boss was targeting the abundant shoals of carp and barbel on a middle section of the waterway when his rod-tip sprang into life. The 37-year-old took the specimen on a single 20mm boilie.

Friends Ollie Fisher and Morgan Blandford enjoyed a river fishing session to remember when they both banked two near-3lb grayling. Ollie, who netted a 3lb Drennan cup-winning grayling last month, bagged a 2lb 15oz specimen, while 16-year-old Morgan, on his first-ever trip in pursuit of the species, netted one just an ounce short of that. 

The pair caught all their fish from a southern chalkstream using a crystal Avon float with 4lb Drennan Float Fish mainline and a 3lb hooklink.