Big fish angler and barbel specialist Tony Miles has spoken to FISHINGmagic about his recent capture of a 16lb 10oz Great Ouse barbel from a stretch of the river that, says Tony, ‘is not high profile, but an area well off the beaten track.’

‘I rarely see another angler.’ He added.

‘There are very few barbel in the stretch,’ he said. ‘And this is my first. Not a bad start though!’

He used a special paste to tempt the fish.

On his first trip to the stretch three weeks ago he landed just one chub in two days, a fish of exactly 5lbs.

‘But’, said Tony, ‘this week I had seven chub, with four of them over 5lb, as well as the big barbel. The barbel was the most awesome barbel I’ve ever clapped eyes on. As you can imagine, I’m still in shock!’