41lb mirror from Christchurch on washed-out baits

Washed out baits proved to be the key to success for Baz Lloyd who landed one of Christchurch’s A-Team – this 41lb 2oz mirror.

The Cheshire-based 26-year-old arrived at the day-ticket water on Oxfordshire’s Linch Hill complex to be told that the water had been fishing extremely hard, producing just one fish in the last 18 days and none in the last nine.

He said: “The lake was very quiet and there was only three other anglers on because of how hard it had been fishing. I set up in a swim called the Plate as this is an area the fish are known to turn up in when they are on the feed. I fished all three rods tight to a silt patch among the weed at 70 yards which I baited with 5kg of washed out Sticky Krill boilies and I was confident of a take if the fish did switch on.”

The lake looked set to continue its tough run of form with the first two nights Baz’s 72 hour session passing without event. Things started to look up, however, when fish started crashing all over the water on the final night.

“The final morning produced a double take at 6am. The first fish to grace the net was a very welcome 22lb 6oz common and the other was one of the lake’s most sought after residents – The Long Fish at 41lb 2oz.”

He got his prize to the bank with the help of a size 6 Korda Wide Gape hook and a 20lb Korda N-Trap Silt hooklink.