PB barbel surfaces in heavy fog - Stephen Dolby
“MY barbel season got off to a very slow start this year. I found it hard to locate them on the tidal Trent, and keeping a bait in the water for more than five minutes wasn’t easy due to the plague of mitten crabs that are now in the river.
“I eventually took a 15lb 15oz barbel only a couple of weeks ago – fast forward to my latest session and it was like going back to square one.
“My traps were set with double 14mm pellet hookbaits, but I fished all day and night without a take. Then, just as daylight broke, the rod caved over and I was in. There was no doubt in my mind that this was a big fish, and it was game on!
“Visibility was terrible due to fog but this brute eventually rolled into the net. She was enormous – I was absolutely blown away by my new PB.”
Stephen Dolby and his new PB 16lb 8oz barbel
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
PB Avon barbel strikes whilst packing up - Craig Colston
“FOR six hours I fished on a low and clear Warwickshire Avon in the pouring rain without so much as a knock.
“There was hardly any flow to the river either, and I didn’t fancy my chances of a barbel. Before I started packing up I recast my downstream rod, which had a luncheon meat hookbait, to a new spot a little further down the peg.
“A few minutes later the rod bent double and after hooking into the fish it took me two pegs downstream and under a tree before I could really do anything about it!
“Understandably I was delighted with the fish, which was a new PB for me and such a rare fish these days for the Warwickshire Avon.
Craig Colston and his 14lb 1oz barbel from the Warwickshire Avon
Huge-framed barbel best of six doubles - Julian Barnes
“I HEADED to the tidal Trent for a 48-hour session, only to discover from other anglers that not much had been caught recently. To gauge the water, I began by fishing a trimmed-down Pandemic boilie alongside a small PVA bag of pellets, and almost straight away I had a 15lb 14oz fish.
“It was tremendously fat and looked as if it had been gorging, so I decided to fish with just PVA bags and no other free offerings, recast every two to three hours, and fish accurately to the same spot every cast.
“Just before dark a 16lb 8oz barbel picked the bait up, followed by a huge-framed fish of 16lb 12oz early the next morning!
“Along with three more doubles to 13lb and four singles it was a magical barbel session I’ll not forget in a hurry!”
Julian Barnes – 16lb 12oz barbel
Small pellets for big barbel
YOU don’t always need big baits to catch big fish, as Pat Dower proved by banking a 17lb 7oz tidal Trent barbel on double 8mm pellets.
The West Yorkshire rod fed just a few pellets in PVA bags to tempt the fish, alongside nine others including seven doubles.
“It was a champagne session for sure,” Pat said.
Pat Dower’s 17lb 7oz barbel from the River Trent
Floodwater Avon barbel is a new PB
MAKING the most of floodwater conditions yielded this plump 16lb 4oz barbel for Paul Allen.
He dropped a pastewrapped boilie into a slack on a rapidly rising Hampshire Avon, and told us:
“Just after dark, in the pouring rain, my rod pulled around and I landed a barbel which I knew would test my old PB of 15lb 5oz. It was well worth a soaking!”
Paul Allen with his 16lb 4oz Hampshire Avon barbel
River Severn barbel record smashed!
AN ANGLER from Birmingham has etched his name into the history books after slipping his net under a new River Severn barbel record weighing 18lb on the nose.
Dean O’brien with the new Severn record barbel of 18lb exactly
Dean O’brien was fishing a day session on a stretch of the lower river when at 6pm his luncheon meat offering was picked up by the powerful fish, signalling the start of a nervy battle.
It’s thought to be the third time in two months that the huge specimen, which has been given the name Red Spot due to a distinctive red colouration above its anal fin, has graced the bank.
“As soon as I picked up the rod the fish just hugged the bottom and powered off – I couldn’t stop it from charging towards an overhanging tree and snagging me up,” Dean told us.
“My mate Spencer Thomas caught her a couple of weeks ago at 17lb 4oz and mentioned that it felt like a heavy weight that just stayed deep like a 25lb carp, so there was no doubt in my mind what fish I’d hooked.”
By manoeuvring himself next to the tree, Dean managed to guide his quarry out from the underwater obstruction and recommence the battle in open water, before netting his prize 15 minutes later. By this point, three other anglers including Spencer and a member of the Barbel Society arrived to witness the weighing on Dean’s 60lb-rated Reuben Heaton scales. He said:
“When the needle read 18lb none of us could believe it. The fish had obviously been feeding up ahead of winter.
“It was only weighed once as I wanted to get this precious fish back into the water as quickly as possible, but we were all in agreement with the weight.”
Over the last three months the two previous captures of Red Spot have received scrutiny on social media over the proposed weight of 17lb 4oz, although Dean believes his catch will put all the doubters to rest.
“Having it weighed wrong once could be a coincidence, but it’s now been weighed three times over 17lb,” he added.
Current official River Severn record
16lb 11oz, Kevin Gittins, October 2014
Biggest confirmed Severn barbel in 2020
17lb 4oz, Andrew Hadfield, September
17lb 4oz, Spencer Thomas, October
18lb, Dean O’brien, November
Giant Lea barbel nearly drags the rod in!
JOHN Hennessey took this 17lb 8oz barbel from Kings Weir on the River Lea moments after making just his third cast in six hours of fishing.
The 70-year-old had nothing to show for his efforts until his rod was nearly dragged in.
“The fish took me all over the river,” he said.
The barbel fell to two 14mm Squid & Octopus boilies over halibut pellets.
John Hennessy and his 17lb 8oz Kings Weir barbel
Four barbel for nearly 60lb in incredible feeding spell - Jerry Gleeson
“CONDITIONS for my latest trip to the tidal Trent were shocking, as the river was gin-clear, the days were warm and the nights were cold. It was no surprise, then, that after 48 hours I hadn’t had a single bite.
“I was on the verge of going home, but after seeing conditions were going to be a bit more favourable with a warm wind, low pressure and rain forecast, I decided to stay for an extra night and chance it.
“The move paid off, and in an incredible short spell I had four barbel for nearly 60lb going 13lb 2oz, 14lb 7oz, 15lb 6oz and 13lb 15oz, by fishing a mix of maggots and Pandemic boilies over hemp.
“The 14- and 15-pounders were caught literally minutes apart and make up my biggest brace of barbel to date!”
Jerry Gleeson and the biggest of his four barbel at 15lb 6oz
PB barbel on a discarded hooklink!
SHREWSBURY AC secretary, Chris Wood, said:
“Six club members went to Collingham Weir on the Trent for a social session. As daylight faded, Matt’s upstream rod hooped over violently.
“To avoid a tangle I wound in his other rod, but it was snagged, and his hooklink was lost. Matt eventually landed a lovely 12lb 3oz barbel which was weighed, photographed and returned.
“He wanted to get both rods back out and was about to tie a fresh hooklink when I came over with one that I’d just found on the floor.
“There was nothing wrong with it, so to save time he attached it to his rig, put on a 14mm Krill pellet and cast both rods back out. He was in the middle of talking to the others about his fish when the rod with the found hooklink bent over!
“Straight away he knew it was a bigger fish and after a 10-minute fight, when it didn’t want to leave the bottom, this giant of 17lb 13oz was netted – beating his old PB by over 4lb.”
Matt Bradley and his 17lb 13oz barbel - caught on a discarded hooklink!
Single hookbait fools giant Southern barbel
FISHING a single boilie next to the near bank led to the downfall of this impressive 16lb 14oz barbel. Matthew Harris fished into darkness on a tributary of the River Thames, but decided not to feed a thing.
Instead, he relied solely on his hookbait to try to entice a bite. It was a move that proved fruitful just a few hours into the session when the Berkshire specimen-hunter struck at a subtle movement on his rod-tip.
“Straight away I could tell that it was a good fish, but I never imagined that it would smash my previous best of 14lb 5oz,” said a delighted Matthew.
Matthew Harris – 16lb 14oz barbel
New barbel record on the River Anker
THE River Anker barbel record has been beaten following the capture of this 16lb 2oz specimen. It fell to Warwickshire all-rounder Adrian Busby, who battled the impressive fish for nearly 20 minutes after it picked up his trout pellet hookbait.
It beats the old best for the waterway by 4oz.
“I’m blown away by this fish because it’s so rare for this river,” said a delighted Adrian.
“In seven years of fishing the Anker, I’ve only managed to catch 11 barbel, but this catch has made all that effort worth it.”
Adrian Busby and the new River Anker record barbel at 16lb 2oz
Eight day baiting campaign pays off for big Stour barbel
“AT THE start of my latest barbel trip to the Dorset Stour I saw a fish roll close to the far-bank margin so I catapulted in five boilies every hour to the spot, intending to fish it later on.
“Just before dark I decided to make the 35-yard cast, but had to put a big bow in the line to hold bottom because the current was raging through.
“Forty minutes later, though, I had a massive run and when I connected with the fish it took line straight away and almost got me round a fallen tree!
“Thankfully, I turned the barbel and slid her over the net at the first time of asking.
“At 14lb 1oz I was mega-happy with the result, especially after I’d baited the swim for eight days and blanked five times during that period!”
Ben Wood – 14lb 1oz Dorset Stour barbel
360-mile trip for a PB barbel - Ricky Hoskins
(PLEASE NOTE - THE FOLLOWING CATCH REPORT WAS PROVIDED PRIOR TO THE SECOND ENGLAND COVID-19 LOCKDOWN)
“IT WAS a 360-mile round trip from my Swindon home to the River Trent, but it was worth it because I caught a PB barbel of 16lb 10oz.
“Despite opening my account with a 13lb 10oz fish on the first night, I ended up moving swims in the morning as I’d lost countless rigs and a decent fish to an annoying snag.
“I soon settled into a new swim and fed four huge balls of Clubmix groundbait laced with hemp, mixed pellets and matching glug to a crease. My feeders were quickly filled and each rig was cast out.
“I was just about to take a sip of my brew when my left-hand rod cranked over and I leaned into a big fish. After a tense fight this hugeframed barbel slipped into the net and I just knew it was a PB. I backed this up with another barbel at 13lb 1oz and left a very happy angler.”
Ricky Hoskins – 16lb 10oz Trent barbel
Careful observation produces huge Avon barbel
WAITING for the right moment to lower in a rig paid off for Mark Woodage with the capture of this 16lb 9oz Hampshire Avon barbel.
The all-rounder had lain on his stomach for nearly an hour, observing three feeding barbel, before he braved setting a trap.
Mark added:
“I thought the barbel had spooked, but then I had an explosive bite.”
Mark’s Avon giant took a 14mm Big Squid dumbell.
Mark Woodage and his 16lb 9oz Hampshire Avon barbel
Nearside slack produces phenomenal Trent haul - Robert Brown
“AFTER spending most of the year working, I booked a week off to have a go at the Trent’s big carp, barbel and chub.
“Because the river was rising quickly I was forced to fish in slack water just a couple of rodlengths out, but I was mega confident I’d catch under these conditions – especially on the big 3 Foot Twitch Redemption boilies that I was using.
“The first 12 hours were remarkable, and I caught three chub over 5lb alongside two beautiful common carp, one of which weighed 23lb 6oz (pictured below).
23lb 6oz Trent common carp
“Another smaller common followed the next morning but the weather changed for the worse, the river rose even more, and I couldn’t hold bottom using 8oz leads!
“I packed up and barrowed my kit to a nice spot with loads of slack water. An hour after baiting up I hooked my first fish, which put up an incredible fight. Eventually I slipped my net under a mint-conditioned barbel of 15lb 1oz.”
Robert Brown and his 15lb 1oz Trent barbel
High and coloured Thames throws up a monster barbel
After blanking on a previous trip, Doug Penny exacted revenge on his return to a stretch of the Thames by banking this 17lb 1oz barbel.
The 61-year-old, from Reading, hit the jackpot after targeting a stretch that was running high and coloured following rain.
“I had the bite a couple of hours after dark and I knew it was a special fish from the off,” he said.
“It’s only my second year on the river and I’ve now had a Thames PB just 12oz short of my all-time best, which came from the River Loddon 12 years ago.”
Doug’s huge fish fell to a paste-wrapped boilie fished alongside freebies and pellets.
Doug Penny and his 17lb 1oz Thames barbel
Monster Derwent barbel strikes within 15 minutes - Martin Allen
“Arriving at the River Derwent for 5pm, I began trickling in some 6mm pellets, chopped Vortex Baits C.K.O barrels and lumps of matching paste to try and gain the barbel’s confidence.
“Within 15 minutes of casting in my feeder rig something big picked up my paste-wrapped hookbait and ran straight into a far-bank snag.
“I managed to move her out and into the middle of the river, and following another epic scrap I eventually netted her, with my heart in my mouth. I couldn’t believe the size of the fish. She weighed in at 15lb 1oz – a new Derwent PB!”
Martin Allen’s 15lb 1oz Derwent barbel
Hookbait change produced my PB barbel - Dai Gribble
“During my latest trip to the River Trent I rediscovered the importance of carrying a variety of hookbaits in my tackle bag. I was struggling for a bite, but ringing the changes at the business end of my rig helped me catch a new barbel best.
“I had a bream trip planned, but due to torrential rain I just didn’t fancy my chances. The conditions were ideal for barbel, though, so I headed to a stretch on the upper reaches of the Trent for a late-evening session.
“The river had a nice tinge to it and was carrying probably an extra 4ft of floodwater, so my confidence was high as I walked the stretch, searching for a suitable place to fish. I settled into a promising-looking swim and cast out two feeder rigs, one with a sweet birdseed boilie and the other with a Sonubaits Code Red boilie.
“Half-an-hour later the rod with the birdseed boilie tore off, but following a short scrap the hook pulled and the fish was gone. I quickly rebaited my rig and cast back out, but after two hours my rods remained motionless.
“The conditions were too good to call it a day so I made a move downstream to another swim. An overhanging willow tree that created an area of slow water looked ideal, and within 10 minutes I had both rigs placed behind it – one upstream and the other downstream. Before doing so I’d swapped the birdseed boilie for one-and-a-half Sonubaits Spicy Sausage Barrels.
“The switch worked, and nearly an hour later my rod pulled violently over and line peeled off the reel. I played it slowly, but the fact that it was staying deep told me it was a very big fish.
“Following a few nervy moments, she surfaced and I got a glimpse of her size. It wasn’t until she was netted and I tried lifting her that I realised that I had a new PB. At 17lb 4oz it smashed my old record of 14lb 7oz, taken way back in 2007!
“The session proved how it always pays to take a few bait options with you on the day.”
Dai Gribble’s 17lb 4oz barbel came after a change of hookbait
Casters the bait for a best Trent barbel
RUI Pedro was rewarded for his decision to fish casters instead of pellets and boilies with the capture of this chunky 17lb 7oz barbel best.
The barbel fanatic travelled from his London home to fish the Trent at Collingham over 48 hours and struck into the fish before midnight on the second day.
He told us:
“I’d baited my near margin with 20 spoppers of hemp and caster and let it rest before casting out a running leger rig with 12 casters superglued to a size 10 hook.
“When she picked up the bait my alarm screamed off and line peeled from my reel. I netted her first time with shaking legs!”
Rui Pedro and his 17lb 7oz barbel