Run of blanks end with 2lb 9oz pb rudd

A run of blank sessions were soon forgotten by Steve Russell when he slipped the net under this 2lb 9oz rudd from an Oxfordshire gravel pit.

The keen specimen angler had previously struggled to locate the fish in the venue, but struck gold when he fooled the new personal best specimen along with five others to 1lb 10oz.

With fish cruising on the surface in the warm conditions, Steve decided to use a simple waggler set-up and spray maggots over the top to whip the rudd into a feeding frenzy.

“It was a really hot evening and the fish gave themselves away in a weedy corner. I was only using a 2lb 8oz bottom and a size 16 hook so there were a few heart-stopping moments when the fish tried to dive for the cover,” explained Steve, who beat his previous record by 2oz.