“I’ve had some good barbel from the River Nene this autumn, including this 14lb 13oz fish on a cold, damp morning.
“I was confident of a take on my paste-wrapped dumbell boilie hookbait, after getting several knocks on the tip. My optimism soon faded, and I felt my chance of a bite had passed. However, while I was talking to a friend with my back to the river he noticed that my rod had doubled over, and I lifted into what we initially thought was a chub.
“After easing the fish out of some weed it showed very little fight, but once in open water it woke up and went on a spirited run every time it neared the net.
“I thought it was around 10lb, but when I lifted it on to the mat it was much bigger than I realised! Going 14lb 13oz, it more than made up for the slow start to the day.”
