Trent hits best ever barbel form
The River Trent is living up to it’s reputation as one of the country’s best barbel rivers, with a string of massive catches taken in the past few weeks.
Here are some of the clonking doubles that have hit the bank…
Christopher Mendelsohn 17lb 2oz
“WHEN I first saw the barbel my legs turned to jelly,” said Christopher Mendelsohn as he recalled the capture of this 17lb 2oz cracker.
For weeks the Lincolnshire angler baited a spot on the tidal river with boilies, hemp, maize and rapeseed, and received a savage ‘one-toner’ just 20 minutes after casting out his paste-wrapped boilie.
“Picking up the rod the reel was screaming and I bent into what felt like a steam train,” Christopher said.
“After a 20-minute battle my son lifted the net under it and I breathed a sigh of relief – she was mine.”
Michael Bradley 17lb 2oz
After replacing his stolen gear from a month before, Michael Bradley christened his new rods in fine style with this superb 17lb 2oz barbel.
Fishing a stretch below Collingham Weir, Michael tackled rising river conditions which saw the river completely change colour throughout his session.
He told Angling Times:
“After seeing the conditions change, I decided to give the fish a good hit of bait so I Spombed a mix of hemp, casters, maggots and pellets to a spot.
“I was soon rewarded with my new personal best which must have been karma for my rods being taken a month before.”
Michael’s new pb fell to a hair rigged piece of spam on a size 4 Drennan Specialist hook tied comb-rig style.
Andrew Flatts 16lb 13oz and Joe Royffe 15lb 1oz
FISHING buddies Andrew Flatts and Joe Royffe both left Collingham Weir with smiles on their faces when they each registered a specimen during their 48-hour ‘social’ visit.
On the first day Hertfordshire specimen ace Joe hit the jackpot when his cage feeder and boilie rig tempted four barbel to 15lb 1oz into his net.
Full-time chef Andrew had been struggling to catch a big barbel from his local River Lea for years but that all changed during the second evening on the tidal river, when he banked a 16lb 13oz beast followed by four other doubles on maggot hookbaits.
Andrew added:
“Howling winds, heavy rain, flooded bivvies and disappearing landing nets made our experience even more special!”
Steven Scott 16lb 4oz
MOST anglers would pack up and go home after fishing for 45 hours without a bite but not Steven Scott, who persevered through driving wind and rain to catch this 16lb 4oz beauty.
The 63-year-old was determined to see out the full 48-hours of his stay and was rightly rewarded with just under two hours to go when a giant fish tore-off with his 14mm hookbait.
“This barbel was heavier than any other I’ve lifted in the 10 years I’ve been fishing for them,” Steven said.
“When the scales settled on 16lb 4oz I couldn’t catch my breath!”
