Midnight switch pays for 36lb fish

A change of swims in the middle of the night paid off for Tom Rowlands who went on to land this stunning 36lb 12oz common from Baden Hall Fishery’s Quarry Pool, Staffs.

With the wind switching and starting to push in to a bay, the 28-year-old postman knew the fish would follow and with the area having a good track record of producing bites in the morning, he upped sticks and made sure he was in position.

“I’d baited a few spots earlier in the day just in case with a mixture of hemp and casters,” said the Stoke-on-Trent-based rod. “I had fish of 21lb and 10lb and then two minutes before I was due to pack up I received another take. Bizarrely, I had been talking about this fish earlier with the bailiff as it hadn’t been caught since last October so we knew it was due out. I couldn’t believe it therefore when, during the fight, I saw a distinctive missing scale on one of its flanks and realised what I was attached to.”

Tom tempted the impressive specimen with a bunch of 15 casters balanced with a small piece of cork and mounted on a size 8 Nash Fang Twister hook and a short supple braid hooklink. This was offered inside a solid PVA bag filled with casters alongside a 5oz drop-off inline lead.