34lb Thames mirror landed

A flooded Thames produced this impressive 34lb mirror to Ash Geden.

The 22-year-old Windsor rod targeted a deep silty part of a slack area to bank the new river personal best.

Despite cold conditions, with frost on the unhooking mat at dawn, Ash’s heavy pre-baiting of Sticky Baits XS boilies and mixed particles paid off.

The fish had clearly taken a liking to the feast, excreting samples of the bait all over the mat.
Ash used a hinged stiff link rig incorporating a size-five ESP Stiff Rigger attached to 20lb Korda Mouth Trap hooklink with an eight inch boom section.

Everything was kept pinned down by 3ft of ESP leadcore attached to a 4oz flat pear lead fished helicopter style.

The hookbait was a 16mm Sticky Baits Buchu Berry pop-up and the mirror was tamed on 18lb ESP Syncro XT mainline, an ESP 3lb test curve Sniper rod and a Daiwa Emcast reel.