He told us “With the waterway running low and clear at the time, scaling down and being as quiet as possible were key to my success. Arriving at 5pm after work, I decided to target an area of turbulent and deeper water, where I felt sure the fish would be holding in the low levels. Rather than rush into casting out, I observed swim whilst sitting and feeding for an hour via catapult. Noisy feeders and baitdroppers have no such place in such clear low conditions, in my opinion – a regular trickle of pellets is a far better option.

I then rigged a 21g bomb, just heavy enough to hold bottom, on a scaled-down set up, using an 8lb mainline, 5ft hooklink of 7lb Drennan Acolyte fluorocarbon, and a size 14 a Wide Gape Specialist hook. It’s a light setup to today’s barbel fishing standards, but in the conditions I felt a touch of finesse would swing the odds in my favour. After an hour of feeding, I clipped on my bomb and punched some 8mm barrels of meat to fish directly the hook. The muggy night air left me feeling breathless, and I just knew something was going to happen. I’ve had three years of feeling like this, and three years of going home with my mission incomplete.

My first cast hit the mark and I paid out a small bow of line. Rattles from chub came quickly, and two small fish of a pound come to the net. All the while, I rarely put the catapult down. Feeding little and often creates a relatively natural environment, in my opinion. In nature, food doesn’t occur in neat piles or lines, so a 3m square of bait encourages the fish to drop their guard. I was loading some pellets into the catapult when the rod smashed over violently, which was followed by what can only be described as a merry dance; upstream, downstream, all over the stream!

Once the fish surfaced, the feeling from my waist down suddenly left – it’s the sheer length left me in a speechless mess. Immediately I jumped into the river, work gear and all, and landed the fish. Its head and tail touched the edges of my 42-inch net. Once rested, the scales and weigh sling were calibrated, before revealing the astonishing figure of 15lb 4oz. The overall key to success in barbel fishing in low rivers for me is simple: scale down, minimise evidence of your presence, feed frugally via catapult, and fish small baits.”

Well done Connor!