This season, two-time Drennan Cup winner Simon Daley set out to catch a truly big barbel from three different rivers and has just completed the challenge in style with this 16lb 9oz fish.
Despite falling temperatures, heavy rain and a rising river told him there was a chance of a fish, so he headed out for an evening session. Simon opted for a single piece of garlic flavoured luncheon meat as his hookbait, knowing that the bait is hard to beat in the conditions. This was fished on a 2ft hooklink below a 5oz lead, with Simon also deploying a backlead to keep his mainline pinned down and reduce the chance of being wiped out by debris flowing downstream.
It wasn’t long before Simon landed a barbel of 11lb 5oz, which he was pleased enough with, however, knowing there was the chance of another bite in the conditions, he decided to stay on until 10pm. At 9:30pm, he had a screaming bite from a fish that put up a great fight in the powerful flow before being netted. At 16lb 9oz, it was a fantastic result and a fish he was rightly buzzing with.
Well done Simon!