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Return to childhood river produces dream barbel
by Freddie Sandford |
Published on17th January 2026 at 11.00am
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When he was 13 years old, Rob Pocock landed his very first barbel – a fish of 9lb 8oz – from the Old River Lea. At the time, he could never have imagined landing one over 10lb bigger, but on a recent return to the venue he did just that after slipping the net under this specimen weighing 21lb 2oz!
It’s one of the largest barbel ever landed in Britain and the latest in a string of truly huge examples of the species reported over the past few seasons. Rob, who switches from targeting carp to river species in the winter, caught it using a lump of luncheon meat cast into a snaggy swim. He told AT how he had originally planned to go fishing with his dad, but when one of their sessions was cancelled, he went out alone.
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Rob with his first barbel!
“I had all the kit packed so decided to make the most of it, but little did I know that I’d go on to catch one of the biggest barbel in the country!” he said.
“I arrived at 7am, an hour before first light, and began roving, legering large lumps of luncheon meat – a favourite tactic of mine for barbel.”
With the banks being quiet, Rob was able to make his way upstream, fishing for around 40 minutes in each spot.
“I don’t feed on these sessions, preferring instead to just make a few casts in each swim before moving on,” he revealed.
“At 11am I reached my fifth spot of the day – a seriously snaggy area where large broken trees lay in the river.
“I was on the phone to my mate saying that just getting a bite would be amazing when the rod hooped over. After a hairy fight, I netted a fish that looked enormous in the net.”
After weighing his prize, Rob was left in disbelief as the needle flew past 20lb.
“Red letter days like this don’t come around all that often, and landing the fish from the Old River Lea, where I caught my first-ever barbel when I was 13 years old, was really fitting,” he said.
“Now, fully 24 years later, the buzz hasn’t changed!”
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A barbel Rob will never forget.
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