13lb 6oz barbel – on a float!
Greys Tackle Consultant and master floatmaker Andrew Field got a real surprise when on a recent session on the River Trent his homemade float buried with a colossal 13lb 6oz barbel.
The 42-year-old from Cambridgeshire said: “It’s a giant of a fish considering it was caught trotting maggots. I have been trying to break the 13lb float barrier for four years and was beginning to think I’d never manage it.
“Trotting maggots is an excellent way of targeting barbel, but they seem to stop intercepting small moving baits around the 10lb to 11lb mark. Perhaps they become too large and cumbersome to make it worthwhile.”
Andrews’s trotting set-up consisted of a 15ft Greys Tactical Float rod coupled with a Mitchell MX9 3000 reel loaded with 7lb 6oz Reflo line. The float, his own creation, was shotted with five No4s down to a size 14 hook carrying two red maggots.
Andrew has now been making his own floats for the past 10 years – this one certainly did its job!
‘I thought it was a snag. Then it started to move’
Lewis Porter admitted to being ‘on cloud nine’ after boating this new personal best 31lb 8oz pike during a session afloat on a large Fenland gravel pit.
Fishing alongside boat partner Matt Rand on the 100-acre venue, the pair caught more than 30 pike during an action-packed day, all of which fell to lure tactics.
Lewis, who lives in Lincolnshire and works for tackle giant Fox, said: “When the fish hit the lure everything just went solid. To be honest I thought I had hooked a snag…but then it started moving!
“After a few minutes it rose up in the water next to the boat and Matt said ‘That’s the biggest pike I’ve ever seen’, which certainly got my knees knocking. We didn’t see the fish again for 10minutes as it proceeded to pull the boat around, and I was a bag of nerves the whole time because I was using a lure with only one set of trebles. Thankfully everything held firm and we soon had the beast in the net.”
Lewis used a 14cm-long Fox Rage Pro Shad Natural Classic lure in Super Natural Perch colours to tempt the huge predator, which beat his old personal best by 20z.
Another piker celebrating a pb this week is Stewart McCandlish, who slipped his net under a huge 36lb 2oz fish five hours into a day session on an undisclosed venue in the Lake District.
The 26-year-old, from Sedbergh in Cumbria, legered a popped-up herring at 40yds to beat his old best for the species by more than 17lb. He mounted his baits on size 6 trebles and a 40lb wire trace.
barbel go on the munch... big time!
The remarkable recent run of huge barbel catches shows no signs of stopping as specimen anglers continue to cash in on one of the best autumns ever for the species.
Once again the Rivers Thames and Trent have dominated proceedings, with three 16lb-plus fish landed from the bang-in-form waterways.
On the former, Robin Cave upped his personal best by almost 4lb with a 16lb 12oz cracker from his only bite of the session. He primed a swim for two consecutive nights before fishing, introducing a mix of 6mm halibut pellets and 20mm Frank N’ Indian boilies.
“I cast out at 4.30pm and at 8pm the rod smashed over. Straight away it felt very different to any barbel that I’d caught before – the power it had was immense and it just wouldn’t give up!” said Robin, who used a 20mm boilie wrapped in matching paste, with a PVA mesh bag of crumbed boilies and pellets nicked on to the hook.
Big boilies were also the successful hookbait for Stuart Taylor’s 16lb 12oz barbel, this time from the middle reaches of the River Trent.
The Manchester rod had already banked nine barbel to 13lb 7oz in his two-night session when one of his two rods ripped off not long before he was due to head for home. Interestingly, all his bites up to that point had come on his other rod, which he had placed slightly downstream, carrying a feeder packed with pellets.
Stuart said: “The rod that accounted for the big one was fished straight in front of me on straight lead tactics and a hair-rigged 24mm Hydra-K boilie wrapped in paste. As it neared the time for me to leave, it ripped off for the first time in two days! A very powerful fight followed, and after 20 minutes I netted her… with an aching arm and shoulder!”
Another angler to enjoy Trent barbel success this week was Ian Potts, from Macclesfield. The Vortex-Baits sponsored rod was targeting a stretch of the middle Trent where he landed a
16lb 3oz barbel on an Enzyme Active Squid Liver boilie, presented on a straight lead set-up with small PVA bags of loosefeed. Ian returned to bank another heavyweight of 15lb 1oz just a few days later.
Finally, down on the River Lea in Hertfordshire, Mike Staines beat his pb by more than 1lb with a fine fish of 16lb 8oz from the King’s Weir stretch.
Mike (68), from nearby Cheshunt, used a semi-fixed bolt rig and a 12mm pellet hookbait, and beat his fish using a centrepin reel loaded with 12lb line.
2lb 1oz roach from a river
Former Angling Times reporter Jake Benson has been in fine form, highlighted in the capture of this very special river roach of 2lb 1oz (above).
Not one to shy away from a challenge, Jake targeted a Midlands river not traditionally known for the species after spotting a small group of redfins there in the summer.
Recalling the capture of his new personal best Jake said: “To catch it the proper way, on trotting gear, from a river, made the capture far more special.”
The fish was caught on the stick float with a double caster hookbait presented alongside a decent helping of hemp.
13lb 5oz fish tops haul of pit bream
Ian Hannaby finished his bream campaign in style with this impressive 13lb 5oz specimen. Targeting an East Midlands gravel pit, Ian fished 60yds out and used 10mm boilies in chocolate orange and shellfish flavour as bait.
To get the bream feeding, Ian introduced a mix of crumbed boilies, maggots and pellets. The mix proved to be very successful, because Ian landed another six fish to double figures alongside the big specimen.
11lb 9oz zed Banked from the severn
This immaculate 11lb 9oz zander got Ryan Healey’s predator fishing season off to a flying start after a session targeting the species on the River Severn.
Ryan hired a boat from Severn Expeditions at Upton to access the best areas of the river and cast a Devon Baits smelt on leger tackle to fool the big ‘zed’.
One of the best eel hauls ever...
40ft-deep Cambridgeshire gravel pit has accounted for one of the greatest eel hauls ever recorded, in the shape of 15 fish to a best of 5lb 2oz.
The phenomenal catch was accumulated in a single night session by Airfield Lakes Fishery owner Richard Wilby, who fished triple lobworm hookbaits to tempt the big ‘snigs’ into a feed.
When Angling Times spoke to Richard about the catch he explained that he targeted the venue only after he discovered a carp angler had caught an eel by mistake, and so he decided to target them himself.
He added: “It was a dream session where my hunch paid off. The two-hour drive to get to a lake I had never seen before was well worth it.
“Overall I banked 15 eels in a spell from 7.30pm to 3am.
“The action was crazy and all witnessed by my mate Adam Holmes, who was carp fishing a couple of swims away – I had to keep borrowing his net as I had a few double runs.
“Most of the eels were big, over 3lb in fact – but I had a couple of fours, then a whacker of 5lb 2oz.”
Richard’s rigs incorporated 15lb mainline with a simple running rig and a 3oz lead. On the business end he used 20lb wire traces attached to size 6 barbless hooks, to which he tied PVA bags containing blood meal, micro halibut pellets and dead maggots.
“Large eels like this are increasingly rare, and it was a privilege to see them and fish a water where the population is still high,” Richard added.
Stillwaters come to life with specimen roach.
One of the greatest big roach catches of modern times has been taken, including a trio of three pounders, as Britain’s favourite species switches on in style.
Leading the way in a remarkable five-fish haul by Bristol-based specimen angler Vinnie Durn was an impressive 3lb 8oz redfin, the second-biggest roach of the season.
Incredibly, the 37-year-old builder backed it up with two other fish each weighing 3lb, and a pair at 2lb 8oz apiece, from an undisclosed southern gravel pit.
Vinnie said: “All five were caught fishing 60 yards behind a raised gravel bar using fake sweetcorn hookbaits to avoid the crayfish, as there are hundreds in this lake!
“I fished the rigs over a big bed of groundbait, hemp and sweetcorn – and all were caught through the night and the following morning from the tightly fished area!”
It wasn’t the only water which saw specimen roach go on the feed as Oxfordshire’s Linear Fisheries also hit form, highlighted by Nick Goode’s 2lb 14oz specimen this week.
He took the fish from the popular Brasenose 2, which is far better known as a carp water.
Many consider the capture of such big roach from large stillwaters to be down to the prevalence of carp anglers’ baits and that’s just what Alan Rio used to bag a 2lb 12oz roach from another undisclosed venue.
The Woking, Surrey, rod used scaled-down carp rigs consisting of a Drennan feeder fished helicopter-style down to a 4lb hooklink and a 8mm boilie.
Alan said: “The recent mild days are perfect for roach fishing.”
Specimen roach expert Phil Spinks also got among the fish when three of his tutorial clients all bagged 2lb-plus specimens from Homersfield Lake in Norfolk.
Angling Direct-backed Phil said “The hardest aspect of catching big gravel pit roach is singling out the better fish. The roach fishing has been tricky of late, so seeing my three guests catch personal bests was great.
“I spent the first day teaching my first client Richard how to approach gravel pit roach fishing, then a couple of evenings later I received a phone call from him saying he had caught a fish
of 3lb 1oz!
“My next guests, Matthew and Chris Baynes, also did well. Matthew had a new personal best of 2lb 9oz and Chris a fin-perfect 2lb 10oz fish.”
To round off an incredible week for stillwater roach, Dale Morris amassed an estimated 15lb net of roach all over 1lb and capped them off with a 1lb 10oz fish.
Dale’s memorable catch also came from a carp water, this time in the north of the country. He fished a light carp set-up and fed corn, casters, pellets and hemp.
New bait lands double figure barbel
Alfie Naylor and Brian Skoyles have enjoyed some incredible barbel sport of late whilst testing a new bait from Nutrabaits, which is designed specifically for the species. Using the River Trent as the location for testing, the pair recently filmed a session to remember.
Alfie described the session to Angling Times.
He said: “The Plan was to introduce a bit of the bait and alternate between one of us fishing whilst the other filmed.
“The action began quickly, and Brian landed a Barbel around 8/9lb early on in the session.
“We got the rod back in position and it was soon my turn…It wasn’t long before we had another take.
“This one was a totally different fight to the first fish, as the barbel stayed very deep in the main flow.
“I knew it was a better fish, but as always when playing a hard fighting barbel, it’s a tense time as you pray the hook doesn't come out.
“We finally got the barbel in the net and I remember turning to Brian and saying, “Wow this is lump.”
“We both stood there staring into the net with massive grins on our faces at this impressive barbel weighing 13lb 15oz.
“Next it was Brian’s turn.
“The wind was becoming increasingly powerful, making filming very difficult, however this didn’t deter the fish and Brian caught another Barbel of about 9lb.
“For the next hour or so we had some lunch and a couple more brews whilst the rods sat motionless.
“Suddenly, the left hand rod ripped off again as line was taken at an alarming rate but unfortunately we lost this one due to hook pull.
“The wind was getting much worse by this point and with that in mind we were about to call it a day then the rod hooped over with an absolutely amazing bite and once again it was my turn.
“The fight was very similar to my first, staying deep plodding around pretty much taking me wherever it wanted.
“I managed to finally get the fish under control and slipped it into my net.
“We stood in amazement, another immaculate double weighing 12lb 9oz.
“This one was a very aggressive fish that stuck its dorsal fin up the whole time we were taking the pictures.
“It was an amazing sight of the beautiful creature.”
To watch the short film of Alfie and Brian’s recent session on the Trent see the video below.
32lb pike pb chews on a turbo smelt
Carl Hill landed this massive 32lb pike during a two-day boat fishing session on Chew Valley Lake near Bristol.
Despite choosing a prime time of year for the species – the reservoir is open to predator fishing on selective days in October and November – fishing was initially slow for the Leicester angler.
However, casting Turbo Smelts tight against the weed line prompted a savage take. This is Carl’s new personal best for the species, and is his third pike over the 30lb mark.
Big barbel landed from across the country.
A colossal 19lb 11oz barbel has topped another fantastic week for the species, which saw dozens of specimens banked from numerous rivers across the country.
The record-nudging fish fell to Essex angler Paul Faint when it took a liking to a couple of hair-rigged 10mm pellets fished on an undisclosed stretch of the River Thames.
Speaking to Angling Times, Paul described the effort it took to catch such a specimen from a very difficult stretch of the waterway.
He said: “Despite it being cold I decided to try an overnight session on a stretch of the Thames that is notoriously hard for barbel. I had a gut feeling that there could be a real chance of a huge fish.
“I’ve done about 20 overnighters in the past two years on this bit of water with only one 8lb barbel to show for it – but I just knew there was bigger fish somewhere there for the taking.”
Paul, who receives a third weekly Drennan Cup award for his catch, fed four pints of hemp and a pint of 4mm pellets to a line of clean gravel in the middle of the river, knowing that this would offer his best chance of a bite.
It was a decision that proved fruitful roughly three hours into his session, when the huge fish took off with his bait.
“When I struck at the bite the fish tore off 20 yards of line and made for an overhanging tree. I slowly pumped the reel to try and get it back out,” Paul added, “and luckily I succeeded.
“After a 10-minute battle the barbel crossed the net cord, and after it was carefully weighed and witnessed by a friend I rested it and returned it to the water.
“This was the only bite of a night that was bitterly cold, but it was well worth the effort.”
On the right is the pick of the week’s other big-barbel...
1) A trip to the APG Fisheries stretch of the River Trent at Gunthorpe paid off in spades for George Gorst when he slipped the net under this 17lb 2oz monster.
The Manchester angler usually spends three or four sessions a year fishing Gunthorpe for barbel, but struck gold on his first visit of 2018 to the prolific venue.
He told Angling Times: “The first 24 hours was quiet, so a mate and I decided to put more bait in – and around midnight my rod sprang into action.
“My initial thoughts were that it wasn’t that big a fish, but when I got it a few rodlengths out it started taking line and began to plod around as the bigger ones tend to do.
“I couldn’t believe it when the scales read 17lb 2oz – it beat my old personal best by over 4lb!”
George caught the large barbel alongside two 11-pounders by fishing NBD Pro Sushi boilies snowman-style attached to 4ft combi rigs with a running 4oz lead.
2) Despite an unfavourable north-easterly wind, clear water and freezing temperatures, top Trent man Brett Longthorne managed to slip the net under this 16lb 2oz personal-best barbel.
To draw the fish into his swim the 3FT-backed angler fed a bed of garlic hemp alongside a scattering of 3 Foot Twitch SG1 10mm boilies.
He said: “I wasn’t expecting any bites due to the poor conditions. The rods went out at 2.30am on a high tide and the downstream rod soon flew off!
“After a solid fight, I slipped the net under a big barbel. She went 16lb 2oz and was yet another another PB!”
3) The River Dearne barbel record was rocked this week with the capture of this 14lb 2oz beauty.
It fell to 24-year-old Adam Lau from Barnsley, who targeted a section of the South Yorkshire river with Dynamite Baits Tigernut boilies fished on a running rig.
He told Angling Times: “I baited up my swim with hemp and a few crushed boilies before fishing, then cast out just before dark.
“The bite bent the rod double and the fish tried its best to get under some near-bank trees – but after half-an-hour and a lot of side strain I managed to get the fish out and into the net.”
4) Heavy rain didn’t dampen Stephane Van Langenberg’s spirits as he fished on to catch this mighty 12lb 6oz barbel from the River Lea. The 30-year-old business development manager from Enfield told Angling Times: “When it surfaced I couldn’t believe how big it looked. It was a proud moment.”
Stephane’s big Lea bertie was caught on meat presented on a simple running leger over a spot he had been feeding throughout the session with a bait dropper.
5) Barbel don’t come much better looking than this 14lb 7oz fish caught by Simon Asbury from the Derbyshire Derwent.
Fishing in the aftermath of strong winds caused by Storm Callum, Simon used a 12mm Sticky Baits Krill Dumbbell to tempt the specimen, which fought hard in the fast-running current.
Huge rudd in early hours on fake corn
Alan Rio proved that rudd aren’t just a summer species with the capture of this stunning 2lb 13oz fish.
Targeting a Farnham AS water, Alan caught the fish on fake corn presented on a helicopter rig over hemp and liquidised corn.
The rudd is a new personal best for the Woking, Surrey, angler, who believes that the early hours of the morning is the best time to target the species at this time of year.
Up early for a monster irish pike of 34lb 8oz
An early start was worthwhile for Stuart Heasty when he landed this mammoth 34lb 8oz pike at 5am.
Targeting a water in Southern Ireland, Stuart used a sardine on a float-leger set-up to tempt the predator. Stuart got the take after only half-an-hour’s fishing, and the fish put up an almighty scrap.
“The rod was doubled right over and all I could do was hang on with both hands as line peeled off the reel. I knew the fish was something special, and it’s a personal best that I’m sure won’t be beaten,” he said.
It’s not too late for a big crucian
A pair of 4lb crucians topped another superb week for the species – which also saw numerous fish over 3lb banked.
The larger of the two taken by Mike Lyddon went 4lb 1oz, closely followed by another bang on the 4lb mark.
Targeting Johnsons Lake, a Godalming AS water in Surrey, Mike cast out a small flatbed Method feeder with hair-rigged artificial casters as hookbait.
He added: “All my fish came at night – I didn’t have a single bite in daylight.”
Alongside these clonking fish, the Gardner Tackle-backed angler landed seven other crucians that all tipped the scales at 3lb-plus.
Mike’s latest catches, viewed alongside his previous track record with the species, further cement his position as one of the most successful crucian anglers of all time.
He said: “Since first targeting them I’ve now caught nearly 350 crucians over 3lb and 11 four-pounders, which is an achievement I’m tremendously proud of.”
Andy Childs also fished Johnson’s Lake for a 3lb 14oz crucian, part of an excellent haul that also included carp to over 20lb and a 2lb 1oz roach.
Another angler to get in on the crucian action was David Brice, who again used a Method feeder with a fake caster hookbait to land a 3lb 11oz fish from an undisclosed water.
David put down a bed of casters and groundbait with a spod and fished for carp while he allowed the crucians to settle on his feed.
Daniel Woolcott also opted for a Method feeder with fake casters to land two 3lb 7oz crucians from a southern lake, one of which was caught during the day and the other after night had fallen.
This incredible week was rounded off by Dereck Wood, who landed a 3lb 8oz crucian from the Hambrook Lakes day-ticket water in Hampshire on two grains of hair-rigged corn fished on a Method feeder. Dereck said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes when the fish came to the surface!”
Super Trent barbel and carp double
The River Trent is well known for its barbel, but the carp sport it can offer is not to be sniffed at either.
Robert Bown proved that beyond doubt when he landed this sizeable 15lb 10oz barbel and coupled it with a carp weighing 27lb 8oz.
Both captures fish are personal bests for the Nottingham angler, who fished Redemption boilies presented alongside a PVA bag filled with free offerings.
And that wasn’t all. Robert, who is sponsored by 3 Foot Twitch Baits and used size 6 hooks to tame the two fish, caught another carp of 12lb 3oz and a second barbel at 13lb 6oz in the same productive session.
3lb 14oz roach is the biggest of the season
A slight temperature drop has sent shoals of big roach into a feeding frenzy in what has been a phenomenal week for catches.
Despite a combination of blustery winds and frosty conditions, ravenous redfins have been on the feed across the UK.
The largest roach banked fell to James Brown, the season’s best so far at 3lb 14oz.
It took a washed-out pink Moretakes Promatein Liver pop-up boilie presented on scaled-down carp tackle, proving that sometimes bigger baits are needed to get through to the larger roach. The NHS paramedic from Suffolk told Angling Times: “I had been enjoying a Friday afternoon to Monday morning carp session at Highbridge Fisheries in Norfolk, but by Sunday all I’d had was a low double.
“I noticed quite a few roach topping on the shelf line on Sunday morning where I had been baiting up all weekend, and decided that if it was a quiet night for carp I’d have a go.”
By Monday morning the roach could still be seen breaking the surface over James’ spot 25 yards from the bank, so after introducing more corn, pellets and Moretakes Promatein Liver boilies he cast out his free-running pop-up rig. “I spoke at length to one of the syndicate specimen roach hunters about my intention to get the feeders, maggots and quivertips out, but he suggested that boilies were more effective on a running lead for these fish,” James added.
“After following his instructions it wasn’t long before I had a twitchy take which I knew was a roach, but because I was using gear intended for 40lb carp the fight was fairly subdued.
“Considering I hadn’t initially planned on fishing for the roach I was very happy with the result.”
A huge piece of breadflake was key to the next roach capture – a chunky 2lb 10oz redfin for specimen hunter Simon Daley.
The 42-year-old roofer trotted the enticing bait along a far-bank crease on a stretch of the Hampshire Avon, and received a positive bite just before nightfall.
He said: “I had a take about 30 yards down the run and I knew when I set the hook that it was a big fish.
“It surfaced halfway up the run and my legs just turned to jelly.”
Arron Seder was next to cash in on the recent roach form with a 2lb 4oz specimen.
It was a new personal best for Arron, who targeted a southern chalk stream with maggots and hempseed.
A single white maggot proved to be the downfall of the fish, as well as a 5lb chub, a bag of grayling and two small perch.
Just a couple of weeks after catching a 3lb 2oz roach in the annual Avon Roach Project match, Mark Everard visited a stretch of the Bristol Avon to take another redfin, this time weighing 2lb 4oz.
Making the most of a tight 20-minute feeding window, Mark legered breadflake over liquidised bread to take the fine fish along with a string of others to 1lb 12oz.
Finally, Andy Childs rounded off the list of specimen roach catches when a 2lb 1oz fish picked up his hookbait during a crucian fishing session on Godalming AS’s Johnson’s Lake in Surrey.
7lb 9oz Stour chub from free stretch
Despite foggy and freezing cold conditions Paul Potter still managed to persuade this chunky 7lb 9oz chub to feed.
Targeting a free-to-fish stretch of the Dorset Stour at Longham, Paul fed a bed of hemp and cast a bolt rig with a Hinders Elips pellet hookbait mounted on a size 8 Drennan Specialist hook to help winkle out a bite.
“The fish came from a free stretch, and considering fishing can be an expensive game that some can’t afford – especially with the cost of some of the club books down south – I wish good luck to those who want to target this river and try and catch a new personal best like I did,” said Paul.
14lb bream falls for micro pellet
Brett Longthorne added to his recent run of impressive form when he scooped up this cracking 14lb 1oz bream during his latest session.
The Manchester-based angler targeted a Northern stillwater with a Method feeder approach with scalded micro pellets around the frame to tempt the fine fish into a feed. He used a 10mm 3FT wafter on the hook which proved too irresistible for the slab.
Brett said: “At 7.30am I had a take, and after a short fight I managed to net the bream, which is my third over the 14lb mark this season.”
Three stripeys for 14lb!
An angler targeting a Lee Valley water has produced one of the greatest hauls of perch ever recorded in the form of a trio of stripeys totalling more than 14lb in weight.
The phenomenal triple-catch was made by local angler Matt Satkins who made use of feeder-fished lobworm tactics to tempt specimens of 4lb 1oz, 4lb 10oz and 5lb 6oz to the net – in what he described as ‘the fishing session of a lifetime.’
Matt’s 5lb 6oz monster
The 41-year-old’s determination in catching a new personal best paid off in spades when he discovered the perch’s patrol route on his chosen water, but little did he know he was about to enter the record books with the capture of three huge sergeants – of which the largest is now the biggest recorded perch of the season so far.
Speaking to Angling Times, an elated Matt described his session.
He said: “I’m absolutely over the moon.
“The five-pounder is a new personal best and the catch of a lifetime – probably equal to catching a 3lb roach!
“I had fished this location last year but could only catch a 2lb perch but once I found their patrol route this year, bites started to come thick and fast.”
Targeting an area of thick weed, Matt enticed his quarry by used a running feeder rig which was loaded with chopped worm and dead maggots.
On the business end was a section of lobworm mounted on a big hook attached to a 6lb fluorocarbon hooklink.
“In the morning I caught the two 4lb fish and I was already over the moon with this result,” Matt added. “Later that day I received another take and I knew from the off it was a much bigger fish.
“The classic headshakes followed and I had to play it hard to steer it away from the dense weedbed. “The moment it went over the net cord was one of sheer relief – it really was the fish of a lifetime.” Matt used two light barbel rods coupled with light bobbins to help catch all three.
Season's biggest roach landed.
An adapted inline maggot feeder rig has accounted for the biggest roach of the season –this 3lb 2oz beauty.
It was caught by Hampshire-specimen ace Dan Gale from a tidal stretch of Dorset’s River Frome and is a fish that he described as being ‘at the top of the list of all the catches that he’s ever made.’
Speaking exclusively to Angling Times, the 35-year-old discussed his session and the capture of such a rare and special roach.
He said: “The bite came during a short evening trip when the tide was a couple of hours into the ebb.
“After a fruitless 30 minutes in one swim, I moved downstream into an area with deeper water, and used a small baitdropper to deposit a couple of pinches of hempseed.
“I then cast my adapted inline maggot feeder with a short hooklink onto the spot, and another just downstream of this into the middle channel.”
For a hookbait, Dan threaded a fake maggot onto the shank of a size 14 barbed hook. No live maggots were used on the hook to help him avoid catching smaller ‘nuisance’ roach.
Dan added: “The bite came on the downstream rod after just a couple of minutes, and straight away I knew it was a special fish. It rolled mid-river early in the fight, and I was under no illusion that I had hooked a monster.
“After a really dogged scrap, the fish finally came to the landing net and I was able to take in its true dimensions.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to catch some really special fish over the last couple of years, but I think a river ‘three-pounder’ might just be top of the list!
“It is a new personal best and one that I do not envisage breaking any time soon! I think this fish is up on a pedestal, compared to the other fish that I’ve caught.”
Dan wins a weekly Drennan Cup award for the catch, his third of the season so far.