The Hampshire Avon continued its tremendous barbel form, with local specialist angler, Gavin Barret this time reaping the rewards with this 16lb 9oz fish. After heavy rain bringing the river up around six inches and injecting a nice dose of colour, Gavin missed the best of the conditions, finding the river running at normal level but still carrying a crucial tinge of colour.

It was a warm autumn day, and he fished a 12mm boilie alongside a tiny PVA bag containing four crushed baits, which he positioned on a patch of gravel close to some swaying weed fronds.

An hour or so after dark he had a jittery take and struck into what he expected to be a chub, but instead he was met with a solid, immovable mass.

The fish shot out to mid-river, with Gavin steadily drawing it back into the edge before it violently tore off again into the flow. Eventually, he guided the fish through the murky river and into the waiting net.