“I recently had a session on the River Dane in Cheshire, where I was targeting chub and dace.
“Using a 2lb bottom and size 20 hook, I’d caught a few chublets before the float buried and I hit into what I thought was a snag. But then the snag started moving, going upstream and taking 20 yards of line!
“I managed to stop it, and thought it was a big trout or a pike, but when it eventually surfaced I saw that it was a big barbel!
“Loosening the drag off, I played the fish carefully before it came to the net. Weighing 10lb exactly, it’s the fish of a lifetime for me and one I don’t think I’ll ever forget.”
Daniel Bellfield – 10lb barbel