Potential Severn record barbel won't be claimed

One of the biggest barbel ever caught on the River Severn has been taken from a stretch of the lower river.

The impressive 17lb 4oz fish fell to Andrew Hadfield, who’d travelled from his home in Cornwall to fish the Midlands waterway.

The 44-year-old told us he’d not long cast out a double Sonubaits pellet hookbait when it was taken by the huge specimen.

He added:

“It was the best fight I’d ever experienced from a barbel. As I shuffled her into the net I thought it was going to snap! 

“A guy in the next peg assisted with the weighing and confirmed that it was a new Severn record, but I’m not fussed about putting in a claim – I fish for pleasure and I’m happy knowing I’ve caught a new personal best.”

Andrew Hadfield with a record breaking 17lb 4oz Severn barbel