GAMECHANGER
How a ‘little red octopus’ bagged a new river record barbel for the Don
BRADLEY HANCOCK – 14lb 5oz BARBEL
“SOME anglers reckon you can’t beat boilies for big barbel, but maggots have just helped me catch a river record.
I absolutely love fishing the River Don at Doncaster and over the years I’ve caught over 50 barbel from it, but that double-figure specimen kept eluding me.
That all changed during my latest session when I tried something different. I arrived at my favourite peg early in the morning and had packed both boilies and maggots, but with the water being cold and up an extra two feet I thought that maggots would give me the best chance of success.
I’m always researching new ways to present maggots on the hook, and prior to the session I’d bought some maggot clips, so I hair-rigged one to a size 8 hook on a running-lead set-up.
To give the barbel something large to zone-in on I threaded eight red grubs on to the clip and was left with a hookbait that I can only describe as a little red octopus!
After feeding maggots to the bottom of a deep gravel bar I cast the rig over the top and after 45 minutes I’d caught a bream – it worked!
Hopeful for more bites, I slipped it back and for six-and-a-half hours I got a big fat nothing!
It was getting dark and I was losing hope when my rod-tip signalled a slow bite followed by an even slower fight. I reckoned that I’d hooked another bream or a dopey river carp because it was just plodding around, so when this giant barbel’s head surfaced I went into panic mode.
It was like time stood still when it slowly glided over my net. I just couldn’t believe the size of it! I instantly rang my mates to come down and help with the photographing and weighing.
They were all buzzing when the scales read 14lb 5oz! Later, I sent my catch report to the Barbel Society which confirmed it was a new record for the Don – beating the previous record of 13lb 11oz caught two seasons ago.
It still hasn’t sunk in now. One thing’s for sure though – if I hadn’t created that little red octopus the record would never have been mine.”
“To give the barbel something large to zone-in on I threaded eight red grubs on to the clip”