After his alarm went off at 3:30am, Yorkshire angler Aaron Smith made the long journey south to the River Lea’s in-form King’s Weir, where he landed this superb 18lb 12oz barbel.
He settled on a swim by the weir itself, and after finding a deep hole to target, casting regularly with a maggot feeder, using a bunch of maggots as his hookbait. After landing a very small barbel, he switched to a straight lead, still with the maggot hookbait. His rod soon hammered over and he connected with a fish that stuck to the bottom during the fight, but eventually, it was slipped into the net. Aaron and his cousin were amazed by not only the size, but also the immaculate condition of the fish, which smashes his previous 13lb best.
Well done Aaron!