Upper Trent barbel record broken!

DESPITE stormy conditions anglers fishing the River Trent have just enjoyed a prolific week of barbel action with multiple specimens to a record-breaking 18lb 10oz landed.

40mph-winds battered all corners of the UK over January 11 and 12 but that certainly didn’t hamper the spirits of the nation’s army of Trent barbel fanatics…

One of them was Staffordshire-based specialist James Ufton who won the battle against this upper Trent barbel record at 18lb 10oz – a fish that he described as being ‘a breezeblock across the back with pectoral fins as big as his hands!’

Like most anglers James had his wife to thank for the remarkable catch after she gave him a pass to go fishing for a couple of hours before dinner.

He didn’t require the full allotted time however as his rod-tip signalled a gentle-pull round just 15 minutes into his session.

He added:

“Straight away I knew it was a good fish so I just took my time – adjusting the clutch when I needed to.

“It didn’t dawn on me that it could’ve been a PB breaker until it surfaced for the first time, and I remember thinking, ‘bloody hell, that’s a massive barbel.

“It was a fantastic catch I’ll never forget as I never dreamed I’d come close to beating my previous personal best, which was the current River Dove record of 18lb 6oz.”

James’ successful rig included a running cage feeder loaded with damp pellets and chopped boilies, complete with a single boilie hookbait cut in half and hair-rigged back-to-back.