The barbel record has fallen to this 22lb 3oz fish, caught on maggots from the River Lea.
The River Lea, which flows from its source in the Chiltern Hills near Luton southeast through Hertfordshire and East London to join the River Thames at Leamouth, is a venue that’s in barbel form like nothing seen before on a UK river, having produced numerous twenty-pound barbel over recent seasons, not to mention chub topping 8lb and perch over 5lb.
Simon’s fish is the same specimen that James Crosby caught at this time last year at a weight of 22lb exactly, which at the time shattered the than the current British best by a 14oz margin. With the fish now 3oz heavier, Simon will be submitting an official claim with the British Record Fish Committee (BRFC).
The Lea is a venue that he knows intimately, with this fish coming from the iconic stretch at King’s Weir. Although there are numerous modern and protein-packed baits that barbel anglers rely on, it was the humble maggot that Simon tempted this fish on. London-based Simon is an all-round specimen angler, and knew that, after a period of mild weather, it was time to target barbel.
He told us “I booked onto the famous weir and managed to get on for two consecutive evenings. With the lack of rain this year and the river running low and clear, I knew maggots would be my best option for tempting a bite. So, I paid a visit to my local tackle shop, Frames of Hendon, and picked up a few pints of fresh reds.”
On his first visit to the weir, Simon arrived after work and set about priming the swim. “Using my trusty KW baitdropper, I put out a pint and a half of hemp and a few maggots, over the top, I fished a free running 3oz maggot feeder on a run ring and added a float stop 6ft up the line to stop debris from impacting the business end of the rig. I used 15lb mainline down to a 24-inch hooklink of 15lb fluorocarbon, to which I tied a strong size 7 hook. On this, I impaled 10 maggots tipped with a single fake maggot. The first evening passed without any indication, but I didn’t mind too much, as I knew my bait was presented cleanly without nuisance fish causing an issue.”
Returning the following evening, Simon settled into the same swim and deposited another pint of hemp and fished the same maggot feeder tactics, hopeful of a result. “At 7:30pm my good friend Dave Robinson popped over to visit before heading downstream to fish the members stretch. We talked about how low the river had been and agreed that, in the conditions, my best chances of a barbel lay within the turbulent weir pool. Dave turned to head downstream, but before he’d even reached the gate, I had a very faint bite on the tip, almost like a bream had picked up the bait. I stood over the rod and picked it up, with it immediately hooping over as the fish stripped line from the reel and headed out into the weirpool. I joked with Dave, saying ‘I think it’s a small one’, and when we got a faint glimpse of the fish in the torchlight, he uttered, ‘that’s a monster’. A tense battle followed, with the fish wallowing in the bubbles, before Dave helped to net an absolute beast.” It immediately became clear that the fish was a truly special one – particularly with its immense width across the back.
“We lifted it onto the unhooking mat and in front of me lay a huge, fin-perfect barbel. My friend Gary Newland came over to witness the weighing, and when he read the figure on the scales aloud, I was in shock. We checked the weight on two sets of scales and settled on 22lb 3oz – a new British record. The evening was one I’ll never forget and spending it surrounded by good friends made it all the more special.”
