Thames record!
Despite the Midlands waterway producing a host of high doubles, it was the Thames that eclipsed all these in a double hook-up by Garry Teer
Tricks for big barbel
The River Trent produced its fair share of specimen barbel this year, but the Thames pipped it to the post with the biggest recorded fish of 2017...
THIS 19lb 1oz monster fell to Garry Teer from an undisclosed stretch of the Thames, and is a new record for the southern waterway.
The Northamptonshire man also landed a 12lb 8oz barbel as part of a memorable double hook-up.
Both barbel were taken on a single 20mm Bankside Baits Team boilie fished in conjunction with a PVA bag of broken boilies.
The larger fish is believed to be the same one caught by the 51-year-old just a month before at a weight of 17lb 9oz.
Gary said: “I had been at the river for a little over 30 minutes when my downstream rod screamed off and the 12-pounder soon made its way to the net.
“As I was just about to release the fish, my other rod, which I had cast on to the shelf of a deep hole mid-river, also screamed off.
“I knew this one was big, as it wouldn’t budge from the bottom. When I saw it in the net after a good fight it dwarfed the 12-pounder – it had a 22ins girth, the fattest barbel I’ve ever seen.”
Garry’s rig consisted of a 2oz lead with a 2ft hooklink of E-S-P Strip Teaze tied to a size 8 hook with a small piece of tubing to act as a line-aligner.