FISHO received an email today from our man in the Old Dart, Martin Salter, with news of a personal fishing milestone.
“It’s been a while since I had a big barbel so this season I drove myself half mad blanking on a tough stretch of the River Loddon in the quest for a new personal best,” Martin wrote.
“The mild weather convinced me to have one last roll of the dice and at 9pm tonight the waiting was finally over when this cracker of 12.11 rolled over the net.”
For the benefit of Fisho readers who aren’t familiar with this freshwater fish, which is held in such high regard with coarse fishermen in the UK, Martin added the following: “Barbel are the hardest fighting river coarse fish and, although they’ve grown in size in the last 20 years with milder winters, less competition in lower stocked waters and anglers baits helping them pack on weight, a ten pounder is still considered a trophy fish.
“My previous PB was 11bs 10ozs from the same river about ten years ago. I’ve had thousands of them in my time, mainly between three and eight pounds with a few larger specimens.
“Got the big one on two 10mm fish meal boilies over a light bed of hemp and pellets on a combi – rig (2m flourocarbon and 5 inches of braid to a size 11 hook and a short hair rig) pinned to the bottom and backleaded to avoid spooking the fish with tight lines. I baited, waited an hour and made only four casts all evening with little pva bags on the lead.
“These are big old wary fish that spook off tight lines and are wary of big beds of bait. Hugely satisfying to finally get one!”
Well done Martin, that’s an impressive looking fish!
