Following a poor session on the River Wye, 57 year old Russell Smith who works for Thames Water, headed over to the River Thames and landed this 18lb barbel on a bunch of lobworms.

Fishing the Thames, Russell found the Wye crippled by low water levels and poor oxygen levels, but his fortunes changed when he returned to his home water. The fish smashed his rod over and pulled line from the bait runner before he played it for 15 minutes, standing in the river and guiding it away from cabbage beds. The Whitton angler is delighted with the fish and took time nursing it back to full strength before it swam powerfully back into the main flow.