How often in angling do you stare at your float or rod tip with utmost concentration for hours on end without so much as an indication, only to turn round, make a brew, or grab something from your bag and instantly get a bite? This happens so often it is almost as if the fish wait until we are preoccupied to take our bait in an attempt to get away with it.
On a recent social on the River Thames, anglers Sam, Omar, and Darius experienced just this; after a very uneventful few hours fishing for barbel, Darius nodded off, and within seconds of closing his eyes, a barbel dragged his rod off the rest and towards the river. Thankfully, between the anglers, they grabbed the rod resulting in a PB barbel of 18lb 12oz, making the capture even more memorable.
"We had been thinking about a social fishing session for the three of us, as we hadn’t met up or fished together much this season due to life’s many demands," Darius told us.
"Sam and Omar decided to take me to a spot they had fished before, believing it was probably our best chance to fish and find some slack water after all the recent rainfall," he added.
"We were all using one rod each, baited with luncheon meat. About an hour into the session, Omar had a savage knock, so we realised there were some fish in the area."
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Despite their best efforts, the trio received very little activity for the next few hours so Darius decided to change tactics slightly. Opting for a boilie hookbait, he cast a little further into the river hoping it would bring him a change of fortune.
"I remember being incredibly comfortable in my chair, and after a long day I must have drifted off to sleep for a second."
"I just recall being woken up by my rod clattering onto the bank as a fish pulled my bankstick over," Darius revealed to us.
"Thankfully, I was up on my feet within seconds and managed to grab the rod as it was tearing towards the river. As soon as I got hold of it I knew something special was on the end."
"The fight was unreal. When we all saw it, we instantly knew it was the biggest fish we’d ever seen in person. It looked massive in the water, and even more so on the landing mat."
"When it came time to weigh it, Omar kept saying, 'It’s not a 14, and it’s not a 16. This fish is bigger, guys'.”
With that, Darius was left shaking with excitement, after almost losing faith he would get a bite, to potentially having his rod stolen by a fish, to now staring at the biggest barbel any of them had ever seen; he struggled to comprehend the turnaround in events.
"The two scales showed 18lb 12oz—a fish of a lifetime! Words can’t do it justice, but the Thames is full of hidden treasures in its deep waters, which makes it such an exciting place to fish."
"It is a fish I will never forget, and a memorable story we have to reminisce over on our fishing sessions in the future," he said.
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