FORMER Drennan Cup winner Alan Stagg’s hunt for a big Hampshire Avon barbel ended in the best possible fashion when he banked ‘the fish of his dreams’ weighing in at 18lb 1oz.
The Basingstoke-based angler admitted that he’d wanted to catch a good fish from the Avon ever since seeing pictures of them in Angling Times at a young age, an ambition that got an extra bit of motivation after he saw Pete Reading’s 19lb 11oz river record, caught back in March 2019.
After nine evening trips over the past few weeks, his long-held goal finally came to fruition on another short after-work session when the 18-pounder picked up his 15mm fishmeal boilie hookbait, which he presented on a small clear area amid the weed that had earlier produced a 5lb chub.
Alan beat it to the bank using 12lb Hydro Tuff mainline, a 15lb Mirage Platinum fluorocarbon hooklink and a size 8 Covert Talon Tip hook.
