London specimen hunter Carl Welch capped a string of recent big fish from the Thames with this 18lb 1oz stunner!

Having caught numerous huge Chub from the river recently, Carl subsequently bagged a 15lb 12oz Barbel a couple of weeks ago. He then returned to his pre-baited area for the huge specimen – which threatens the recognized river record of 18lb 2oz.

“I’ve had some big fish from the river, but the sheer power of this one was staggering” exclaimed Carl, who presented an Aqua Dynamix Worm boilie in conjunction with a small PVA bag of crushed samples, and landed the fish with the aid of a Martin Bowler Big River Barbel 12ft 2.25lb rod.