AFTER a successful start to the season targeting chub on the Thames, Simon Baker turned his attention towards the river’s barbel and got off to a flyer with this 17lb 3oz cracker.
Arriving for a ‘social’ with a good friend, he fed half a jar of hemp and 1kg of broken boilies with a bait dropper before letting the swim rest for a few hours.
An hour after casting out he had a few line bites, and soon after that his left-hand rod was away with an 11lb fish. After recasting with a homemade boilie, he then had a take on his other rod.
When the fish finally popped up, Simon knew it was special, and slid the net under a new PB for the London angler.
Simon Baker - 17lb 3oz barbel