43lb Scar out at Bluebell

The saying ‘just like buses’ certainly rang true for Gavin Grimshaw who landed a brace of big commons during a session on Bluebell’s Swan Lake.

The 48-year-old Northants-based driver had never caught one over the 30lb-barrier in well over a decade of fishing the famous day-ticket water, but ended up landing three in the last fortnight, including two in an hour.

His golden 60 minutes featured a common of 36lb along with one of the lake’s most sought after residents – a fish known as the Scar at 43lb.

Speaking to Angling Times, Gavin said: “I’ve fished here forever, 12 or 13 years, and never had a 30lb common despite there being plenty of them in the venue. That all changed two weeks ago when I had my first and then I had the Scar at 43lb and the 36lb within an hour of each other.”

Gavin, who once agonisingly lost Benson, the complex’s famous common which topped the 60lb-mark, added: “I was on cloud nine and just couldn’t stop smiling.
“I knew as soon as I hooked the big one that it was a good fish. It had a huge tail like a paddle and took me 15 minutes to land.”

Gavin offered about 1.5kg of Mainline Hybrid boilies on a silty patch at 80 yards and fished a matching hookbait over the top.