Drennan’s Ian Brooker was one of several astute specimen anglers to take advantage of the mild floods over the Christmas period with this 12lb 4oz River Kennet Barbel.

With the river the highest he’d ever seen it, Ian stayed mobile and spent a bit of time searching out various swims, spending a maximum of 45 minutes in each likely looking spot. These tactics paid off with several fish taken over a couple of afternoons with the best being the 12lb 4oz.

End tackle included a simple running rig with 12lb ESP Striptease hooklength and size 6 Specimen Plus hook with a large lump of paste as bait.

The Drennan Specimen Plus hook pattern is a high pressure flat forged hook for extreme strength, and the long curved beaked point is a good choice for fishing over gravel and stony bottoms where ‘burring’ of points with bottom baits can be a problem.