Colin told us “I was on the tidal River Trent for a 48 hour session and to say it was flowing would be an understatement. With the river well and truly up, debris were coming down thick and fast and because of that I was only able to keep a rig in place for 20 minutes before it was pulled out of position. I was fishing an area of gravel with 10oz leads and a small pva bag, the gravel spot is where you would normally be sitting on if the river levels were normal! This just shows how much the river was up.

30 hours in and I’d not had a single bite, a few anglers who were also fishing the stretch couldn’t take it anymore so packed up and went home. I decided to stay and was glad that I did as at 5:15 on the second day I had a few taps which were followed by a slow pull round. I struck and instantly felt a big resistance as the barbel headed straight for the main flow.

During the 15 minute scrap it took me from left to right and snagged me up twice but thankfully I was able to guide her out both times. It was hard to tell how big it was because the flow was raging so much and my rod was arched over the entire time. She finally hit the surface in the margins and I soon had her easing towards my waiting net. It was at this point I could see how much of a special fish she was and knew that it would break my previous personal best of 14lb 9oz.

It turns out I was correct as it was a brute of a barbel that registered dead on 18lb on my scales. I am so glad I stuck it out and persevered as it certainly paid off.”