'I lost count of bests'

16-year-old Dean Owens celebrated his GCSE results by landing four fish to 52lb in just six hours at a French lake.

The teenager became Cultured Carp Baits’ first apprentice and was taken to Barnview Lake with the company.

He said: “After just a few weeks of working for the company my boss Mark Hallin asked if I fancied a trip to France as part of a trial run for a guided carp fishing holiday Cultured Carp Baits are looking to launch in the near future.  I jumped at the opportunity and was hoping for some success but little did I know just how successful the trip would b – I lost count of the times I caught a new PB!”

All fish were caught on Fruits of the Sea 20mm corkball pop-ups fished in PVA bags. Rigs incorporated 25lb Korda Supernatural hooklinks and size 6 Korda Wide Gape hooks.