A two-hour drive from Middlesbrough to the prolific Collingham Weir on the River Trent resulted in this immense barbel for James Butler, weighing 17lb exactly

.

James told us “The fish came on just my second session for barbel, and only succumbed to the net after a lengthy battle. It was the craziest fight I’ve ever experienced! The bite came just after dark and it nearly pulled the rod in! I battled the fish for 15 minutes with it taking line downstream, but eventually I managed to slip the fish into the net. I didn’t realise how big it was until my friend, an experienced barbel angler, started screaming and shouting. He couldn’t believe it!”