Yet another barbel over the sensational twenty-pound mark has been landed from Kings Weir Fishery on the River Lea, after Nathan Buckingam slipped the net under this specimen of 20lb 9oz.

Amazingly, it was caught just a few days after he landed one of 19lb 8oz, giving him two barbel for an ounce over 40lb! He had the fish from the same swim as before – an area that many anglers walk past. It’s not a swim that screams fish, hence the lack of attention it receives, however on his first session, Nathan stumbled across a slightly deeper hole, which was where he had the ‘nineteen’ from.

This time, he was fishing an evening session after work and cast a single lump of luncheon meat in the same depression, with no loosefeed. His dad, Phil, explained that despite the Lea being a relatively narrow waterway, it’s crucial that your hookbait is in the ‘right’ area of the swim. The big barbel have patrol routes and will often enter and leave swims through the same areas. If your hookbait isn’t in their path, you might not know they were ever there!

Well done Nathan!