A HANDFUL of rivers may seem to dominate the big barbel world, but some of our smaller waterways are still capable of producing something special, as this 17lb 1oz giant of a fish from the Derwent proves.
It was landed by Koi Croydon, who was named after a fish by his life-long angler dad. He had been monitoring river levels on the EA website and noticed them dropping slightly after rain. Knowing conditions were right, he settled into a swim where the river narrows into a channel after a bend. Shortly after sunset, he had a huge liner, before getting what he describes as ‘the most savage bite’ he’s ever had. The fish fell to a paste-wrapped shrimp boilie hookbait.
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