The Hampshire Avon is regarded by some as the finest barbel river in the country, which makes this fish of 19lb 8oz one of the nation’s greatest angling prizes and its clear to see why when they look like this, absolutely stunning and a great photo to match!
It was landed by Daniel Albano on a recent session, with the fish falling to a fishmeal boilie hookbait presented alongside a PVA bag filled with 8mm pellets. He found the Avon in fine fettle, carrying a tinge of colour. Combined with warm and rainy conditions, he knew he had a good chance of a bite and was proven right in spectacular style.
Using two rods on close-in gravel spots, he had a take on the downstream rod, with the fish surging off through weed beds. It thrashed on the surface, almost tail-walking, which had Daniel thinking it might’ve been a small fish. However, as it neared the net, he realised his assumptions on its size were wrong, with the massive fish soon laying in the net.
Daniel admits that, had he known how big it was, it’d have taken him twice as long to land! Interestingly, he caught the same fish years ago at 17lb, as part of a memorable brace.
Well done Daniel!