It's been a while since we've heard from Team Bankside member Andy Howes but after a short break away from the bank, he's back doing what he does best. Here's what Andy had to say about his latest capture.

 

"After a bit of a break from angling over the summer i've started making the odd trip to the Severn again recently. A week off work and renewed enthusiasm led me back to the river where i began fishing for barbel, and this 11lb 3oz beauty was a nice welcome back. The river had tested my patience for a couple of days previously, the low and clear conditions making life tricky, but the foot or so of fresh water I'd been waiting for finally arrived from the welsh hills, brought a bite or two and gave me the Severn bug again!

This is probably the most immaculate Severn double i've ever caught, usually they're proper old warriors but this one was almost scale perfect. A subdued fight and the sun on the water blinding me led me to believe it was a fairly small fish, but it grew in the net and I was shocked to see the needle sail past the 10lb mark. Hopefully this is the start of a good winter, let's hope it stays mild this year.

This fish was caught using Team Barbel Paste over a bed of Oysta Crunch groundbait with a few Grubbers and a bit of hemp balled into a deep near bank channel."