The biggest barbel ever reported from British waters has fallen to Londoner Simon Baker, weighing 22lb 3oz. It was caught from the River Lea – a venue that’s been in rare form over recent seasons, having produced numerous 20lb barbel, not to mention chub topping 8lb and perch over 5lb.
Simon’s fish is the same specimen that James Crosby caught at this time last year at a weight of 22lb exactly, which at the time shattered the then current British best by a 14oz margin.
With the fish now three ounces heavier, Simon will be submitting an official claim to the British Record Fish Committee (BRFC). The Lea is a venue that the captor knows intimately, and this fish came from the iconic stretch at Kings Weir.
Although there are numerous modern and protein-packed barbel baits around, Simon relied on maggots to tempt his new personal best giant.
Going natural
Simon is an all-round specimen angler, and he knew that, following a spell of mild weather, it was the right time to target barbel.
“I booked on to the famous weir and managed to get on it for two consecutive evenings,” he told Angling Times.
“Given the lack of rain this year, and the river running low and clear, I knew maggots would be my best option to get a bite. So I paid a visit to my local tackle shop, Frames of Hendon, and picked up a few pints of fresh reds.”
On his first visit to the weir, Simon arrived after work and set about priming the swim.
“Using my trusty KW bait dropper, I put out a pint-and-a-half of hemp, along with a few maggots,” he said.
“Over the top, I fished a 3oz maggot feeder on a run ring and added a float stop 6ft up the line to stop debris from gathering around the business end of the rig.
“I used 15lb mainline down to a 24ins hooklink of 15lb fluorocarbon, to which I tied a strong size 7 hook. On this, I impaled 10 maggots tipped with a single fake maggot.
“The first evening was uneventful, but I didn’t mind. I knew my bait was presented cleanly, with no nuisance fish causing an issue.”
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The second evening
Returning the following evening, Simon settled into the same swim, deposited another pint of hemp and fished the same maggot feeder tactics, hopeful of a result.
“At 7.30pm my good friend Dave Robinson popped over to visit before heading downstream to fish the members’ stretch,” he told us.
“We talked about how low the river had been and we agreed that, in these conditions, my best chances of a barbel lay within the turbulent weir pool.
“Dave turned to head downstream but, before he’d even reached the gate, I had a very faint bite on the tip, almost as though a bream had picked up the bait.
“I stood over the rod and picked it up, at which point it immediately hooped over as the fish stripped line from the reel and headed out into the weir pool.
“I joked with Dave, saying: ‘I think it’s a small one,’ but when we got a faint glimpse of the fish in the torchlight, he said: ‘That’s a monster.’”
A tense battle followed, with the fish wallowing in the bubbles, before Dave helped Simon to net an absolute beast.
It immediately became clear to the two friends that the fish was a truly special one – particularly given its immense width across the back.
“We lifted it on to the unhooking mat and in front of me lay a huge, fin-perfect barbel,” Simon added.
“My friend Gary Newland came over to witness the weighing, and when he read the weight on the scales aloud, I was in shock.
“We checked the weight on two sets of scales and settled on 22lb 3oz – a new British record.
“The evening was one I’ll never forget, and spending it surrounded by good friends made it all the more special.”
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