OVERHANGING trees are classic angling spots to target, even when they’ve just fallen into the river – as Steven Harvey proved when he tempted this impressive 20lb 2oz barbel from a fast-flowing stretch of the upper Thames.
The Berkshire angler chose not to loosefeed anything, and instead simply presented his 14mm hair-rigged halibut pellet hookbait right next to a tree that’d just been blown into the river during high winds.
Steven told Angling Times that the fish nearly took his rod off the rest on the bite, before giving an amazing fight in the strong flow.
Steven Harvey - 20lb 2oz barbel