Frank Saunders was fishing the in-form Kings Weir on the River Lea in Hertfordshire when he hooked and landed the impressive fish of 19lb 4oz on what was his first trip to the venue in 60 years.
He’s a fan of traditional tackle, and showed that it’s certainly still up to the task by taming one of the biggest barbel in the land and one that smashed his previous best of 13lb 12oz.
“Catching fish like this is about being in the right place at the right time, with a little bit of luck thrown in,” Frank told us.
“Landing them can be a little trickier, and this one put up an exceptional fight. It got under the weir sill at one point, but I managed to steer it over to my colleague, Johnny Gray who was waiting with the net. He’s an experienced salmon fisher, so I knew I was in safe hands!”
Frank took his fish on legered double lobworm, but the most notable part of his set-up was the MkIV cane rod he used to beat it. These were designed by none other than Dick Walker, and were the first purpose-built carp rods.
“Vintage tackle makes the whole experience more pleasurable. There’s more feeling in it, in my opinion,” explained Frank, who paired the rod with an Adcock Stanton centrepin.
“The rod is one I’d waited 50 years for, ever since I first fished the Royalty on the Hampshire Avon. I couldn’t afford one at the time, so I got the fibreglass equivalent. It cost me a lot more now than it would’ve done then!”
IF YOU PREFER MODERN TACKLE, CHECK OUT OUR BUYER'S GUIDE TO THE BEST BARBEL RODS.
