15lb-plus barbel on first Thames session - Paul Scowen

“I was given the heads-up about a stretch of the middle Thames that contains some big barbel. Having not fished it before, I ended up walking the banks four times to get an idea of where to target.

“With a couple of likely swims selected, I arrived after work for my first session. The river was pushing through quite hard so I stuck to large PVA bags and double 16mm boilies, with no loosefeed. Within minutes I found myself attached to a bream of around 7lb-8lb.

“About an hour later the same thing happened, but this fish held deep as it swam upstream past my feet, feeling heavy and slow. Assuming it was just another bream, I gave it no quarter and heaved it toward the waiting net, which is where I saw it was a big barbel!

“Less than two hours in and I already had a 15-pounder in the net!”

Paul Scowen’s 15lb 2oz middle Thames barbel