On a trip to the iconic King’s Weir fishery on the River Lea, Keith Woods managed to catch one of the stretch’s largest residents in the shape of this 19lb 7oz barbel.
Fishing the weir pool, he hooked the fish in the early hours of the morning, which smashes his PB by nearly 2lb. Having lost a big fish in the same swim the week before, this one certainly made up for it. Maggot feeder tactics were successful for Keith, with 10 red grubs on a size 10 his hookbait.
This was presented below a large feeder, which he cast regularly to keep a trickle of feed going through the swim. The barbel battled hard for around 20 minutes, making three runs in the strong current before being landed. As an added bonus, Keith landed a 10lb 3oz bream earlier that day, making it a true red-letter session.
Well done Keith!