Two Personal Bests For Phil

Jack Reid

Well-known big fish angler Phil Smith has had an unforgettable few months barbel fishing, beating two personal bests in the process.

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Phil Smith with his biggest barbel from the Derwent at 16lb 12oz

The first fish of 16lb 12oz was caught back in September from the Derbyshire Derwent and is Phil’s second largest barbel ever caught from the Derwent and a river personal best for that river.

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A new personal best from the Warwickshire Avon at 14lb 10oz.

This more recent capture at 14lb 10oz was caught from the Warwickshire Avon, and again, was a new personal best for Phil on that particular river.

Phil used his trusty 1.75 Drennan Specialist Barbel rod along with 12lb ESP Syncro XT Loaded mainline and his usual size 8 Continental Boilie hook baited with a single boilie on a hair. He opted to fish a 50g swim feeder filled with mixed pellets of various sizes along with hemp, rather than a straight lead setup.