He told us “I started off my pursuit in typical Thames style, fishing two rods with 3oz inline leads and boilie hookbaits with mesh bags of freebies attached. But, after a couple of hours of blunted hooks and endless debris building up from the flood water on both lines, I opted to change tactics. I decided to focus on fishing single rod slightly closer in, where debris in the flow wouldn’t cause so many issues, and with a pungent cheese and garlic paste hookbait, which would hopefully stand out in the coloured water, that I mounted on a size 6 barbel hook.

Just 45 minutes later my tip slammed a couple of times before confidently hooping over. A tug of war ensued between the two of us and, each time I felt like I was getting somewhere, the fish would make another run for freedom and see me backwinding like a loony. After 10 minutes or so of this relentless back and forth, the unmistakeable shape of a huge barbel broke the surface and I immediately felt the pressure that playing such a fish always brings.

But I carefully managed to bring the beast to the waiting net. Once in I let out a huge sigh of relief and muttered a few expletives. I secured the net and unhooked the fish in the water before quickly calling Nick, a local mate, who kindly offered to venture down and help witness the capture properly. It wasn’t until he arrived and I lifted the fish out of the water for the first time that I realised just how big it was. Not only was it thick across the back, but it had serious depth too. After a careful weigh and several pics, we slipped her back and off strongly she went. At 17lb 1oz, it’s fair to say that it will likely be a barbel best I will take a long time to better.”

Well done Dan!