Thames gets in on the barbel boom

The Trent may have been taking the headlines for big barbel catches recently, but anglers down South on the Thames have been enjoying fantastic specimen sport too.

The biggest fish from the river in recent weeks fell to Roman Vann, who caught a 17lb 12oz barbel just as the river was fining down after flooding.

“At first I was convinced that I was attached to a carp, the fight was that hard!” Roman said.

“I had lost my headtorch in the melee and was on the phone to my mate saying that the barbel wasn’t that large, but when I eventually turned the light on and looked into the net, I realised just how big it was. I said to him: ‘It’s huge - it’s like a horse!’” added Roman.

The fine specimen fell to boilies fished over a bed of hemp not far from the bank.

Another angler who struck gold was David Ranger, who ventured out for the first time since the sad passing of a lifelong fishing partner in August.

He christened his return to the river with the capture of this immaculate 15lb 15oz barbel.

Arriving at a stretch of the River Thames in Berkshire during a heavy downpour, David wasn’t expecting too much – but he hooked his first fish within a few hours, followed by the big girl the next morning.

“It’s not my biggest barbel, but it still gave me that buzz after a long time away from fishing,” he said.

“I have to thank my friend for looking down on me.”

David’s barbel fell to a new rig he was trying which incorporated a 15mm boilie and a 12mm pop-up on a hair rig, with a PVA bag of boilie chops attached on the cast.