The clues....

ACROSS

8 Withdrew barb from fish’s mouth (8) 9 Relative of swordfish ... in Tamar link (6) 11 Whale food – found in Warwick rills (5) 12 Weed-eating fish species imported to UK (anag. of ‘car grasp’) (5,4) 13 Exhibited by a rod that bends only through its middle and end sections (3-6) 14 A canal craft (5) 15 Sticklebacks have them (6) 17 Means of crossing a river etc. is a game! (6) 19 Weird ... part of mahseer I examine (5) 20 A reel feature (anag. of ‘Di U., angler’) (4,5) 23 Circular current in a river (9) 25 Protective wear to avoid dirt, etc. getting onto front of clothes (5) 26Name of several UK rivers, eg. tributaries of Spey and Aire (anag. of ‘cradle’) (6) 27 Blackthorn Carp Fishery is near this Shropshire town (8)

DOWN

1 Live bait container? (6) 2 A rather small thing to use as a natural bait? (6) 3 Over 12 years of age? Then you’ll need one as an angler in England, Wales, part of Scotland (3,7) 4 Usual ways to determine the winners of angling contests (5-3) 5 Jokes - they keep fishes’ mouths open! (4) 6 A very popular tackle setup in coarse fishing (5,3) 7 One who takes photo ... of Australian pink-red food fish? (7) 10 A small mountain lake (4) 14 Somerset town on the River Parrett (10) 16 ____ baits consist of small items, fed in large quantities (8) 17 Very unlike a chub, if you were to eat one! (anag. of ‘bless one’) (8) 18 Northumbrian town on the Tweed (7) 20 A hook-to-nylon will have such a knot at one end (4) 21 To introduce oxygen into (6) 22 ___ Fairbrass, founder of Korda (5) 24 Tells fibs ... about trout’s resting places? (4)