This season, with his local Hampshire Avon out of sorts, two-time Drennan Cup champ Simon Daley decided to target barbel on the River Lea instead. It’s a venue he’s fished for the chub in the past, but with its exceptional barbel form last season, he decided it was time to try for one of the venue’s larger residents.
Fully expecting to invest many hours before a capture, Simon had a result on just his second session this season, landing this 17lb 9oz beauty. The fish fell to a krill dumbbell which was trimmed down to imitate his 10mm pellet loosefeed.Interestingly, Simon didn’t use a bait dropper as some barbel anglers do on the stretch, and instead fed pellets by hand every now and again, just a couple at a time. His thinking was that, in the low-stock stretch, a bit of noise as the baits entered the water might get the fish’s attention.
He was certainly proven right when his rod screamed off as the fish made a bid for freedom on the narrow and snaggy stretch. Rig-wise, Simon adopted the set-up that’s been successful for him on the Hampshire Avon, including an inline lead, a short fluorocarbon hooklink, size 10 hook and a backlead to keep everything pinned down.
Well done Simon!