Small hunch brings big eel

Eel anglers often see the potential in waters that others would never dream held a decent ‘snake’ – which is exactly how Somerset surgeon John Chester banked this 5lb 12oz specimen.

The 56-year-old big fish hunter noticed that a local pond filled with carp, roach and perch, was fed by a small stream, a feature he knew gave the potential for eels to be present.

Fishing air-injected lobworm on a leger rig, it took just two hours for John to find his quarry. A long stuttering run resulting in a solid fight and a new personal best fish measuring 43 inches on the bank.