The beauty of fishing the rivers across the UK is that they are always capable of throwing a surprise or two at visiting anglers. Rui Pedro was the latest angler to attest to this, after a barbel session ended up with him catching a completely unexpected fish.
“After finishing work, I got the train from Kings Cross to Rotherham, where I planned to fish the River Don for barbel.
“Arriving in the dark, I fed lightly with boilies and bits of meat in the margin, fishing one rod with meat over the top and using the other to cast a feeder mid-river.
“In the night I had a take on the close-in rod and landed my first Don barbel – a fish of 8lb 10oz.
“After breakfast the next morning, I switched to a lobworm hookbait on one rod, and 15 minutes after casting out I had a proper pull round and expected a barbel to be the culprit.
“But the fight was strange, and it turned out to be from this 4lb 3oz ide – a PB for the species! It was the highlight of the trip.”
IF YOU HAVE NEVER FISHED A RIVER BEFORE, HERE ARE SOME GREAT TIPS...
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