Zander career off to good start with 15lb specimen

Countless anglers will spend decades trying to catch a huge zander but Graham Mann managed to land this personal best 15lb 14oz fish from the River Severn just 18-months into his career.

The Worcester-based rod only took up the sport last year after taking early retirement and joined a friend for a morning session on a local stretch of the waterway.

A legered bleak deadbait was presented in a likely looking spot and less than an hour after first wetting a line he had a bend in the rod.

“At first I didn’t think it was anything special until it started stripping line. Once in the net it was clear I’d beaten my previous best of 10lb 6oz quite easily,” explained Graham, who used 15lb mainline and a size 2 hook.