Cornwall based Andy Hadfield has to travel a considerable distance if he wishes to do any barbel fishing, but having a camper van makes it a fun experience when he does! And after he latest outing when he landed this impressive 17lb 4oz barbel, were sure he will agree it’s worth the effort!

Andy told us “I decided I’d try the lower reaches of the River Severn for a couple of days. I started fishing on the first morning but after a few hours I’d not had anything, so I packed up, went to the pub, came back to the river then had a nap in the van.

At around 4:30pm I got back into the swim and cast out a free-running rig with two 14mm Sonubaits spicy garlic pellets around a rod length behind this overhanging tree. I was only using a single rod as the swim was quite tight and I’d fished

Just before 5pm my rod arched over and I struck into a fish which I knew was massive from the off. It held deep and gave me the greatest fight I’ve ever experienced from a barbel. Eventually she surfaced and I remember being shocked and overwhelmed by the sheer size of her.

From the moment I saw her I couldn’t stop shaking and the relief when she went over the net was unbelievable. By this point an angler in the next peg came round and I was struggling to lift the fish out of the water and onto my mat. I thought it was going to snap my landing net at one stage!

I wet the sling, zeroed the scales and slowly lifted the fish up. The angler confirmed the weight at 17lb 4oz and I was just starstruck. I had no idea of the Severn record at the time but the guy told me it was definitely a new record. I fish for my own pleasure at the end of the day and although I’m over the moon knowing I’ve caught a fish over the Severn Record, I won’t be submitting a claim.

Just to have seen and fought a fish of that size is more than enough for me.”