WHAT an impressive photo this is - of a stunning barbel by a true British angling great.
Angler’s Mail legend Andy Little caught one of the biggest barbel of the season from the Hampshire Avon with this 15 lb 4 oz dr specimen.
It is widely-respected specimen hunter Andy’s biggest barbel from the river and comes after sussing out how to get past ‘problem’ chub.
Andy, who is now living in the area, explained: “It’s a fish that I have been targeting for a while but it’s usually accompanied by a large shoal of chub which I managed to keep occupied with a bed of Richworth S-Core 2 pellets.
“So I presented half of a Richworth S-Core 2 boilie in combination with a small PVA bag of crumbed bits about ten yards below the shoal of chub.
“After about an hour and a half three of the resident barbel homed in on my bait and this time my luck was in as the largest was the first to get there.
“After a terrific scrap I breathed a sigh of relief as she slid over the rim of the landing net beating my previous Avon barbel best by a couple of ounces.
“The capture more than made up for the last few blanks – it is an absolute stunner.
“Although not my largest which is a 17 lb 10 oz river record barbel from the River Wey, this was a new Hampshire Avon PB for me,” concluded Andy, 67.
Andy starred for two decades every week in Angler’s Mail magazine, inspiring a generation of carp and specialist anglers. He has made occasional appearances in recent years.
He’ll be back in AM mag soon with an all-new series, as part of the most knowledgeable and interesting team in UK coarse angling.
The Hampshire Avon river record of 16 lb 15 oz caught by Phil Nixon in 2016.
The barbel caught by Andy Little could potentially beat it in February or March at the end of this season.
CAUGHT A BIG FISH OR GOT SOME NEWS? Email photos and details exclusively to: anglersmail@ti-media.com – you could appear in the must-read print magazine.
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