No better time for a specimen barbel

It’s a superb time to be a barbel angler, and personal bests are being banked from rivers all over the country.

Here are the reports of three 16-pounders from the past week of fishing to inspire you for the weekend’s sport ahead…

Alfie Naylor – 16lb 14oz barbel 

Newark rod Alfie Naylor proved the effectiveness of fishing big baits in flooded rivers for barbel when he slipped the net under this 16lb 14oz specimen.

He said: “The River Trent was rising and very coloured-up, and with this in mind I changed my approach and hair-rigged five Nutrabaits River Plus boilies on to a big size 4 curve shank hook, to which I attached a PVA bag of matching boilies.”

It was a new personal best for Alfie, who targeted a middle stretch of the river.

Mike Staines - 15lb 12oz barbel 

The famous Kings Weir Fishery has lived up to its reputation for big barbel in the shape of this stunning 15lb 12oz fish, landed by venue regular Mike Staines.

A simple piece of hair-rigged meat proved too much for the specimen to resist, as Mike explained:

“I was fishing in the weir pool using a hair rigged piece of meat on a size 10 hook when I had a bite around mid-afternoon. “It was my first bite of the day, and I’m really pleased with the fish.”

Julian Barnes – 16lb 7oz barbel 

Three trips to a flooded tidal River Trent helped Julian Barnes bank numerous double-figure barbel to a 16lb 7oz best. Targeting an area of slack water, he fished two 18mm Madbaits Pandemic boilies with a PVA bag of broken boilies and small pellets.

He said: “I love fishing in flood conditions, and once you find the right areas to present a bait the rewards can be great. During my three trips I caught lots of doubles with numerous to 13lb-plus, along with the 16-pounder.”