53lb mirror ends six-year campaign

A six year campaign came to a triumphant conclusion for Mark Smith when he slipped his net under this 53lb from the Main Lake at Fryerning Fisheries.

The 50-year-old laundry owner from Essex targeted a silt area at 60 yards range in a deeper area of the lake where he thought the fish would be held up and scattered 200 Nash Bait Scopex Squid Red boilies over an area the size of a tennis court.

The first day of the session passed without event, but a change in tactics soon changed his fortunes.

“I started off fishing balanced bottom baits, but after 24 hours without any action I decided to switch to naked chod rigs,” he told Angling Times. “I’d only just cast out when I my alarm let out a few single bleeps. There was a lot of floating weed about so at first I assumed this was the cause. I then heard the spool on my reel slowly ticking over so I lifted in to the take.

“Straight away I could tell it felt different to anything else I’d ever caught from the lake and at the back of mind I had a feeling it was the sought after mirror known as The Gurm.

“I’ve fished at Fryerning for the last six years and always wanted to catch this fish. To have it at 53lb at this time of year was magical,” he added.

Mark mounted his hookbait on a size 6 Nash Fang Twister hook and a 20lb ESP Stiff Rig Bristle Filament hooklink.