A claim has been made for the River Wye barbel record following the capture of a known monster weighing 14lb 12oz.

Baiting little and often certainly proved fruitful for Matthew Fernandez with the capture of this fine 2lb 9oz river roach.

Targeting the redfins in his local River Itchen with stick float tactics, the Hampshire-based angler employed regular feeding of maggots and hemp to get them into a feeding frenzie.

He said: “After catching a small roach I was happy to know there were fish about, but on the very next trot through I struck into a confident bite and I was met with firm resistance.

“After a hairy fight a big roach graced my landing net and I was shocked to see the needle on my Avons spun round to 2lb 9oz. A new river personal best!”

Matt’s roach fell to a single maggot fished to a size 16 hook.