The River Trent barbel record was smashed when Sew Kowalski landed this massive 20lb 6oz beauty..

whilst fishing a completion aimed at integrating foreign anglers with the UK fishing community.

Fishing a 48 house match organised by Barbel Team PL/UK, Sew connected with the powerful fish during the early hours. Sew told us “at about 4.30am I had a powerful run, and I knew it was a really big fish as soon as I lifted my rod from the tripod and bent into it. I was absolutely astonished when I saw it in the net, it was a monster!” After weighing the fish on two separate scales, each reading 20lb 6oz Sew was keen to release the fish as quickly as possible. “The fish looked as if it was close to spawning, so we did everything as quickly as possible to get it back in the water safely” Sew added.

The competition Sew fished was organised by Barbel Team Poland/UK, a group which was founded by Greg Dytowski in 2014. “Our aims are to educate foreign anglers about UK fishing practices so that they can integrate with the British angling community,” Greg explains.

We’re a non-profit organisation formed of individuals and families who share a common love of barbel fishing and angling in general.”