It’s fair to say Cliff Kinch has certainly been putting the effort into the River Itchen, targeting barbel over the past year and its all paid off, in the shape of this lovely 15lb 4oz barbel.

He told us “I’ve been targeting barbel from a stretch of the River Itchen over the past year, and after putting in a lot of work, it all came good the other morning. I was on the river at the crack of dawn, with my rig tied and ready to go with a single hair-rigged 12mm bait which I fished over pellets on a running leger. After making my first cast, six swimmers had passed through my swim by 5:30am, but just over 15 minutes later, I hooked and landed this 15lb 4oz barbel. To say I was delighted is an understatement. The joy is written all over my face! This really is the moment of a lifetime for me.”

Well done Cliff!