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Pete Reading Breaks Hants Avon Barbel record!

So, Dick Walker, Fred J Taylor & Colonel Crow were not wrong in the late 60's when they looked over Ibsley and Ellingham bridges and said "there be giants". Whilst Dick and Fred observed and spoke of 15 to 20 lbs Barbel in the middle Avon, the biggest they caught was 12.04 (by Dick on lob worms in the late 60's). We stand on the shoulders of giants. In the late 70's anglers like Pete along with the likes of Bob (Mousley) and a few local 'specimen hunters' fished the middle Avon for the 'unicorns'. A few verified twelves were caught by the likes of Tony Hart, Dave Burden etc, but it was not until the revolution of the modern era when the ghosts of future past became a reality... 15's 16's and 17's and now Pete's big nineteen. No angler has pursued this dream and deserves it more for close on 40 years. well done Pete, richly deserved.!
 
Just got back off me 'ols, catching up.

What a stunner, well done Pete :)
 
I am not a regular poster but upon hearing this news i feel compelled to tap digit to keyboard and heres why.
I am in the fortunate position to share the same banks of the Avon as Mr Reading and since before christmas have been targeting an area with past form for producing the bigger girls.By baiting lightly and fishing as often as possible ive had some success with fish just shy of sixteen pounds gracing my net .
The end of the season saw me looking back on a pretty good season for myself with some cracking looking fish caught but not the real monster i was hoping for.Then came the news of Petes capture and you would probably expect me to be a bit miffed.Nothing could be further from the truth i was genuinely chuffed for the bloke.
I ,like many wessex barbel anglers of a certain age, have followed his exploits through various articles and diary entries over the years .I applied a lot of the methods and tactics he describes, aswell as a general common sense approach, to my own angling and my catches improved dramatically.
Our paths cross quite regularly these days and nearly every time he leaves me with some little nugget of knowledge to ponder on,i often think he has probably forgotten more about Avon barbel than a lot of us are ever likely to know (except for John Mc G maybe) .
To me he has been a brilliant ambassador for this branch of angling that we all love and has been treated a bit harshly recently over his opinion on the otter debate.
So a new record for my favourite river and a cracking looking fish aswell well done Sir Pete.
 
Amazing catch by a top angler who puts a lot back into angling.

Probably the nicest looking big barbel I’ve ever seen, it’s beautifully proportioned.
 
Joe Winstanley said:
Amazing catch by a top angler who puts a lot back into angling.

Probably the nicest looking big barbel I’ve ever seen, it’s beautifully proportioned.
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I was going to say exactly the same thing. It’s a stunning fish. Pete’s a big bloke and the fish looks massive even set against his frame. You know it’s dedication and deep skill/watercraft that’s produced this fish of a lifetime.
 
Greg Buxton said:
So, Dick Walker, Fred J Taylor & Colonel Crow were not wrong in the late 60's when they looked over Ibsley and Ellingham bridges and said "there be giants". Whilst Dick and Fred observed and spoke of 15 to 20 lbs Barbel in the middle Avon, the biggest they caught was 12.04 (by Dick on lob worms in the late 60's). We stand on the shoulders of giants. In the late 70's anglers like Pete along with the likes of Bob (Mousley) and a few local 'specimen hunters' fished the middle Avon for the 'unicorns'. A few verified twelves were caught by the likes of Tony Hart, Dave Burden etc, but it was not until the revolution of the modern era when the ghosts of future past became a reality... 15's 16's and 17's and now Pete's big nineteen. No angler has pursued this dream and deserves it more for close on 40 years. well done Pete, richly deserved.!
Click to expand...

Just to set the record straight (my memory is terrible these days) and to put things in context, the stand out capture off of the middle Avon (and therefor of national significance) in the mid 1980's was Andy Orme's winter caught 13.07. The BRFC official record was then 13lbs 12oz!
 
Greg Buxton said:
Just to set the record straight (my memory is terrible these days) and to put things in context, the stand out capture off of the middle Avon (and therefor of national significance) in the mid 1980's was Andy Orme's winter caught 13.07. The BRFC official record was then 13lbs 12oz!
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Hi Greg, I think your 14.01 around that time was also a contender for the stand out capture......
 
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