A CHUNK of hair-rigged meat lead to the downfall of this almighty 18lb 6oz Warwickshire Avon barbel – the joint biggest ever to be caught from the venue.
It was banked by Birmingham’s Dean O’Brien, who also holds the unofficial River Severn record with an 18lb fish. It continues the Warks Avon’s form for big barbel, the river producing fish of 17lb 14oz and 18lb 6oz last season.
Dean arrived on the bank around lunchtime and settled into a snaggy swim. He fed chopped meat, pellets and boilies on a little-and-often basis, before dropping his Oxo cube-sized meat hookbait over the top. He fished this on a running rig, with a 2oz lead, 15ins of 20lb coated braid as a hooklink, and a size 8 hook.
The day passed quietly, but at midnight he had a 13lb 10oz fish. He kept feeding the swim until first light, when a screaming take saw him connected to a far more powerful fish. After an epic 10-minute battle Dean finally slipped his net under the epic barbel.
