The Hampshire Avon has been in fine form this year for barbel, almost returning to its glory years when big barbel were prolific throughout the river. After producing a 19lb fish a few weeks ago, it was Craig Smithson's turn to battle with a giant fish, this time landing a sublime 19lb 12oz fish, one of the biggest barbel in the country.
Finding the river on its way up after a few days of rain, the Southampton rod knew that conditions were prime for a bite. Opting for simple but strong legering tactics, Craig employed a combi-rig made with Gardner Tackle components, using 16mm boilies on the hook to tame the specimen.
“I headed out for an evening session and positioned the rig, with just eight free offerings in a PVA bag, on a small gravel spot amid the streamer weed,” he told us.
“A few hours later, after darkness fell, I received a bite and hooked a fish that then locked up in the weed.”
Thankfully, Craig was using stout tackle, including 12lb Speci Tuff mainline and a size 8 Target Barbel hook, and was able to coax the leviathan out of the snag.
“As it pulled free I saw it glimmer under the torchlight and that’s when I realised I was attached to a very big barbel!” he added.
"My legs immediately went to jelly, but thankfully I managed to remain calm enough to see the fight out and without too many more inconveniences the fish was in my net."
“The fish smashes my previous best of 16lb 4oz, which was also caught from the Avon back in 2019, but I highly doubt I will beat this fish any time soon!"
MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING THE BEST BARBEL REELS TO HELP YOU TAME POWERFUL FISH LIKE THIS.
