BARBEL novice Dylan McLoughney got a dream fish most river anglers would dream of when he took this 18 lb giant.
The River Thames barbel was the first of the species that Dylan has ever caught.
The 23-year-old Screwfix assistant manager tempted the ‘beast’ from his local river near Reading in Berkshire.
Dylan said: “I would love it to be published for every angler out there about my beginners luck.
“Me and my brother Jamie finished work early Friday and he rang me saying ‘lets go for a barbel.’
“We went to the Thames and within 20 minutes of my bait being in the water I caught my fish of a lifetime.
“I caught him on a braided Ronnie rig with a 14 mm Sonubaits Oozing Bloodworm pop-up boilie.
“I was eating a sandwich at the time of the take, where my brother screamed at me ‘Dylan, look at your rod!!’ … I nearly chocked on my sandwich when I saw the bend on the rod!
“The rod was about to go into the river, and I had to jump out of my chair and grab it.
“The fish pulled so hard that with all the excitement I grabbed the line with my hand. I knew I made mistake doing that where the line burnt my finger and gave me a scar.
“It was a real fight, lasting around 15-20 minutes. I knew he was a big fish, and as you can tell in the pictures with his tail that’s where all the power came from.
“I’ve had a lot of attention from people about it on social media. I’ve had over 800 likes and over 100 comments, one man saying he’s been fishing barbel for 50 years and never achieved anything like my fish. It makes me feel very lucky,” concluded Langley-based Dylan.
CAUGHT A BIG FISH OR GOT SOME NEWS? You could star in Angler’s Mail in print and online – email pix and details exclusively to: anglersmail@ti-media.com
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