Rivers in the best autumn form so far

UK rivers have hit their best form of the autumn so far - as proved by Simon Buckman when he banked a huge 16lb 1oz barbel along with a string of roach to a best of 2lb 12oz from a tough southern waterway.

Just a few days after setting a new personal best with a redfin of 2lb 8oz, Simon thought he’d make the most of the rich run of form shown and go in search of even bigger fish.

After spending hours walking the banks looking for the tell-tale signs of fish ‘rolling’ on the surface he cast out a Dynamite Baits The Crave boilie mounted on a size 10 hook.

His tactics worked like magic once again with a specimen roach bettering his personal best 4oz. But his biggest surprise was yet to come as his rig, intended for roach, fooled his fifth 15lb-plus barbel from the venue.

“The big fish really like to show themselves on this river but they are far from easy to catch. You can be sitting there with 2lb-plus roach topping in front of you, but you can’t buy a bite, which is so frustrating,” Simon told Angling Times.

“But in the last three visits to the river everything has just come together perfectly.
“When I’m fishing for roach I always put a rod out for the barbel, so it was typical that I hooked this huge fish on the rig that wasn’t actually intended for them.

“The size 10 hook made me a little nervous, but the rest of the rig was constructed with pretty heavy gear so I was confident that it was up to the job.”



The Angling Times is sad to report the death of the Tackle Boat owner

The Angling Times is sad to report the death of Mark Thame, owner of the Tackle Boat, as featured in the August 27 edition.

The 54-year-old passed away suddenly on October 2 and now his wife Debbie has decided to place the barge ‘Le Souk’ into brokerage at Whilton Marina on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire.

Anyone interested in making an offer for the vessel or donating to the two local charities which the couple supported, Billy's Wish and Homes4Dogs can contact Debbie on: 07527 098491.


Monster Fish Lurking At Clumber

For a big fish experience, whether you’re a pike angler or someone who likes to catch big bream on the feeder there aren’t many better waters in the Midlands than Clumber Park Lake in Worksop.

In fact the fishing has been so good here recently the 83-acre venue has earned itself the nickname Jurassic Park because of the monster fish which lurk in its depths. Carp over 48lb have been reported this season and local specimen hunter, Ian Cougill, had a bumper session last week, landing several double figure bream. These slabs have been popping up all over the lake, falling to ledgered lob worm, fished over particle groundbait. However, when the weed dies down the standard Method or cage feeder approach can also pay dividends and is easy to adopt. The lake is mainly fished by carp anglers and if the bream get caught it is usually by accident so they aren’t very shy so there is no need to fish too light, especially as there are tench to 9lb in here. Due to the venues size, finding the fish is key so it is worth gaining a bit of local knowledge and finding out where the fish are being caught prior to fishing so you can target that area with your bait. Groundbait should be a fairly fine sweet mix with particles contained within it to give the bream something to graze on while they find your hookbait.

Huge perch have also been putting in an appearance recently with specimens over the 4lb mark being taken on lob worm and prawns. As we go into the winter the pike fishing begins and although it’s a ‘lure only’ water, pike over 20lb are no uncommon here throughout the year.

TIP: Clumber is a large water so be patient and wait for the bream to feed by putting some feed out via a feeder. Try fake corn or a bright pop-up for the bigger specimens.

Prices: £7.50 a day (parking is charged on-site or free for National Trust members, £95 a season including parking.
Location: Clumber Park, Worksop, Notts, S80 3AZ
Contact: 01909 544917
Facilities: Toilets, restaurant, shop, refreshment kiosk
Rules: Barbless only, no keepnets, no night fishing, no live or deadbaits, two rods maximum, no fires


Stunning common caught from gravel pit

This stunning 33lb 8oz common was landed by Luke Griffiths from a tricky five-acre Cambridgeshire gravel pit nicknamed the ‘Leney Lake’.

The 25-year-old Peterborough-based landscape gardener fooled the impressive specimen with a Mainline Baits Milky Toffee pop-up presented over a bed of Hybrid boilies.

He mounted his hookbait on his favourite hinged-stiff rig presentation which was constructed with a Coretex Matt boom section and 25lb Rigidity attached to an Arma Point SR hook.


36lb common taken in overnight session

This immaculate 36lb 6oz common was the highlight of Jordan Dicks’ overnight session on the Carp Society’s Farriers Lake in the Cotswolds.

The Bristol Angling Centre manager landed the stunning specimen, along with a smaller fish, from a silty area at 60 yards range which he had baited with around 4 kilos of Nash Bait Monster Squid boilies and offered a matching hookbait over the top.


Chew '42' to set new record in winter?

Chew Valley Reservoir has once again staked its claim as the best predator water of all time after it produced a huge 42lb pike.

The impressive specimen, which falls just 4oz short of the fishery record, was landed by Bridgwater’s Ray Jones and was the highlight of an incredible first week of the sell-out pike fishing trials on the Bristol Water controlled venue which saw no less than three different thirties reported to 33lb and 23 fish over the 20lb-barrier to 28lb.

Fishing from the bank near the Nunnery Point area of the 1,200 acre lake, Ray connected with the biggest reported pike of the year when it picked up his floatfished mackerel hookbait.

“I’ve just got married and had only returned from my honeymoon in Corfu the day before,” he told Angling Times. “When I hooked in to the fish I could obviously tell it was something big, but it was only when my mate who landed it told me he couldn’t lift the net that I realised it was something a bit special.

“I lost a big fish from the same area last year on Chew after it snagged me on some sunken tree stumps so I played this fish a bit harder as I didn’t want a repeat of last year.”

“I was shaking when we lifted the fish up on to the scales as it was such an incredible creature. If it’s this weight now who knows what it could do later in the winter.”

Another angler to get among the venue’s famed stock of specimen pike was local angler Gavin Young, helping himself to a new pb of 32lb.

He was boat fishing over around 20 feet of water when the fish, which beats his previous biggest for the species by 4lb 4oz, found his float-legered deadbait too hard to resist.

“As soon as I hooked the pike it jumped clear out of the water. When I realised what I was connected to my heart started to beat out of my chest!” said Gavin.
“I think it would have saved me a lot of stress if I hadn’t seen it until it was ready for the net.”

Also getting in on the action was profession fly fishing guide, John Horsey, who slipped his net under a 27lb 12oz fish after offering a floatfished herring mounted on size 4 trebles in 10ft of water.

Many experts have been quick to state that due to the fact a fish of such proportions has been caught so early in the year before the first frosts, there is a realistic chance that this winter could see the venue produce a predator over the current British record of 46lb 13oz.

Neville Fickling, former holder of the British pike record, was not only one of the anglers who struck gold last week with the capture of a pike weighing 28lb 4oz, but is also of the opinion that Chew Valley Reservoir has cemented its place at the top of the predator fishing tree.

“I would stick my neck out and say that Chew is the best pike fishing venue in the world. I’m not aware of anywhere better and I’ve been in this game for a while,” Neville told Angling Times.

“I haven’t heard of a fish this big being caught this early in the trials before and it really makes you wonder what it could produce as it gets cold and the conditions for huge pike get even better.”

**Chew Valley’s biggest pike**

Ed Matthews, 42lb 4oz, November 2011
Ray Jones, 42lb, October 2013
Mark Even, 41lb 8oz, January 2012
Andy Charmer, 40lb 8oz, February 2010
Mike Green, 40lb 8oz, May 2009
Phil Wakeford, 40lb 6oz, January 2012

**Top pike waters of all time**

1. Chew Valley Reservoir , Somerset: Top of the list for its sheer numbers of huge pike present, which are caught on deadbaits, lures and flies.

2. Lough Mask, County Mayo, Ireland: Before the venue was netted some years ago it produced pike up to 42lb and ‘thirties’ were also on the cards.

3. Blithfield, Staffordshire: During a relatively short space of time from the year 2000 it produced 29 fish over 39lb.

4. Llandegfedd, Wales: This venue holds the current British record at 46lb 13oz caught by Ray Lewis in 1992.

5. Gartmorn Dam, Scotland: Possibly the best pike water ever in Scotland



Academy to keep England on top of the world

Match angling legend Dick Clegg has revealed plans to create an academy that will keep England at the top of the international ladder for decades to come.

Countless team and individual gold medals have been brought home from the world championships in recent years and arrangements are now being put together to nurture stars of the future to help them replicate that success.

The former England team manager believes there is a vast array of talent that has the potential to compete at the highest level but is adamant a new system needs to be installed. “Each year we run trials to help pick our junior and ladies teams and those that don’t get picked often disappear into the wilderness, which isn’t a good thing,” he told Angling Times.

“We need to give those people that weren’t so lucky first time round the chance to improve and be in with a better shot next time. This can only be done by inviting them to regular tuition sessions run by coaches of a very high level three standard.
“I’m determined to get this scheme off the ground so that the pool of talent gets even bigger, giving the management of each team a very difficult decision when it comes to selecting squads for competition,” he added.

Milo star Steve Gardener has worked under the stewardship of Dick on numerous occasions during international events and believes he is the perfect figure to head the forward-thinking approach. He said: “He has been there and seen it all so I can’t think of a better man to get something like this up and running. A lot of anglers only fish commercials these days so a scheme like this could challenge them to learn more specialised skills such as the bolognese or slider that are key to winning on the international stage.”


Kayak angler towed a mile by huge skate

Ryan Turner was towed nearly a mile out to sea on a 15ft kayak as he battled with a giant 100lb-plus monster skate.

The 22-year-old from Dorset has become only the tenth angler to catch a three figure specimen from a kayak after making the 1,000 mile trip to Oban in the North-West of Scotland where a group of fellow kayakers met to target the species.

However, the aeronautical engineer from Lyme Regis was made to wait until the last cast of the final day of the eight day trip before hooking the huge fish: “It was fishing at its most extreme” said Ryan. “I didn’t realise it had dragged me out so far because I was so focused on trying to get it to the surface as I was fishing in over 400ft of water. I have been a kayak angler for some time now but have only ever targeted fish to around 10lb such as small rays. My biggest ever fish is actually only a 20lb carp so this was a complete eye opener for me!”

Ryan used a 50lb class rod, a hook the size of a human hand and a whole octopus as bait to catch the gigantic specimen which was estimated to have weighed between 120lb and 140lb, measuring 2m long and 1.5m wide. It took over half an hour to land and he had to have another angler paddle around next to him in case he got into trouble. “I was feeling quite downhearted as despite catching a rare black-mouthed dogfish during the trip I hadn’t caught anything big in the eight days whereas some of the others in the group had. I was extremely relieved when I hooked this monster which ended up being the biggest fish of the week. I am so grateful to Tom Brice and Nick Turner for making this trip happen,” he added.

Ryan’s capture in numbers
4 – The weight in pounds of the lead Ryan used to hold bottom
15 – The length in feet of Ryan’s kayak
20 – Ryan’s previous biggest fish in pounds
330 – The breaking strain in pounds of Ryan’s hook leader
450 – The depth in feet the 22-year-old was fishing
1000 – The total miles Ryan travelled to get to his fishing spot


One of the biggest carp in the UK banked at 62lb 4oz

One of the biggest carp in the UK has been landed by Matt Bryant in the shape of this huge 62lb 4oz mirror known as The Parrot.

The colossal specimen resides in the Cranwells Lake syndicate water on the Wasing Estate in Berkshire and was landed in the early hours of the morning by the 25-year-old police officer.

Arriving to be greeted by a strong, cold northerly wind he was surprised to find several fish showing in just three foot of water.

He wasted no time getting a hookbait among them but also decided to err on the side of caution and positioned another hookbait, consisting of a double 15mm Mainline Baits Cell bottom bait, in a deeper 8ft gulley close to an island.

It proved to be a wise move as it was this rod that produced a bite at 2am. “The fight was fairly uneventful and when I saw it coming towards me in the light of my headtorch I thought it was a forty known as Floppy Tail,” he said. “When I looked in the net I realised it was far too big and could only be The Parrot.”

Matt, who has been a member of the syndicate for 10 years, added: “The fish appears to be starting to put a bit of weight on again this year. It will be interesting to see what it does over the next few seasons as it could well get close to breaking the British record.”

The Parrot first broke the 60lb-barrier in October 2011 but is usually caught around the upper-fifty mark. The current British carp record is held by Oz Holness who landed Two Tone at a weight of 67lb 14oz in 2008.


Good luck bottle of lager lures 300lb Great White shark

A British angler used a lucky bottle of lager to tempt a rare great white shark off the coast of the United States.

Paul Raines poured a bottle of Heineken into the sea for good luck and 20 minutes later hooked into the 9ft predator – the first the ship’s captain had seen in that area in more than 25 years.

The 49-year-old was aboard ‘Mark the Shark’s Striker 1 boat, a mile out of Biscayne Bay in Miami on the hunt for sailfish, hammerheads and tiger sharks.

“Wherever I go sea fishing I pour a bottle of Heineken in the water for good luck,” said the Gloucestershire angler, “it never fails!”

The 300lb shark took a live mullet intended for sailfish and was brought alongside the boat twice on just 30lb mono before breaking free after about 45 minutes.

Keen coarse fisherman Paul, who has a caravan at White Acres in Cornwall, said: “It nearly pulled my arms off. It was like playing a big carp on 3lb line, he was in control.”

Paul, who began fishing at the age of eight and has a 25lb carp to his name, added: “It wasn’t on one of the shark rods so I was lucky to get it back to the boat. We were in 250ft of water and when he went deep there was nothing I could do.
“It is my best fishing moment ever, the absolute best.”


Chris Tarrant is back with new TV series

A new primetime fishing show hosted by Chris Tarrant is coming to terrestrial television this week.

Chris Tarrant Goes Fishing will be shown on Channel 5 in four hour-long parts covering domestic and international angling.

The experienced presenter said the project is a “labour of love” that he hopes captures a more rounded view of the sport. The four episodes include sailfish to 180lb in the Maldives, massive lake trout in Yukon, pike on the fly at Chew Valley Reservoir and salmon from Ireland.

“It’s four very varied programmes,” said the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? host, “It was authentic and it wasn’t a lucky man’s jolly around the world. I don’t think there’s anything in it that will make fishermen say ‘oh, that wouldn’t happen in real life’.
“I wanted to explore areas that fishing programmes never do. I wanted to talk to people about how they got into fishing, are they obsessive, does it affect their lives – the stuff that’s about the fish and the fishermen.”

The project began when Chris and angling guide John Horsey decided to pack a video camera on a pre-planned trip to the Maldives.

The former Tiswas host said: “We did some filming and during it we thought ‘this is quite good’ and we were enjoying it – it didn’t feel like work, it was a labour of love.”
Executive producer Martin Founds, of Anglers World Holidays [[corr, no apostrophe]], said: “It’s much more than a fishing series, it’s about the ethos and what makes people go fishing – the places you visit, the people you meet and the wildlife you bump into.”

The series begins on Channel 5 at 7pm on Friday, November 1. For a full interview with Chris about the project see Angling Times out on the iPad and Android on Monday October 28 and in shops on Tuesday October 29.

 


New Angling Times Issue 3132 out now!

This week’s Angling Times is packed full of news and features to make your fishing week one to remember.

In news, it’s been a brilliant week for big fish, with huge zander, perch, chub and barbel being taken across the UK. Meanwhile, Steve Ringer reveals the lessons he learned from a recent festival, Dave Harrell continues his series that will improve your river fishing, and The Bait Doc shows you how to boost your maggots.

We’ve also a huge Carp News section and carp expert James Armstrong reveals how he caught 'Tyson' at 47lb 12oz. There's lots of new tackle inside too and Angling Times' tackle editor Mark Sawyer takes a look at Daiwa's carp-proof float rod, Rapala lures and more. Angling Times is Britain’s No.1 fishing weekly – out on the iPad every Monday, in shops every Tuesday.


Just 5oz secures £25,000 payday for Andy Leathers in Parkdean Masters

Parkdeans Masters 2013
White Acres Holiday Park, Jenny’s Pool (24 pegs)

Browning Hot Rod Andy Leathers is the 2013 Parkdean Masters Champion - and £25,000 richer - after winning one of the closest finals in the event’s 14-year history, on the Jenny’s Lake at Cornwall's White Acres complex.

Andy hit the front of the highly-competitive, star-studded field, four-hour event with five carp in the first hour from peg 16 and continued to catch steadily throughout, including fish to double figures, fishing long pole and worm in his 20 carp haul and it was a lead he was to maintain right up to the all-out but it was a close run thing after a late challenge from Angling Times’ Ben Fisk on peg 8 who found Jenny’s F1 hybrids feeding shallow on pellet fished on the long pole.

Middy-backed Ben was the first of the two to weigh in, and after posting a brilliant 97-15-0, there were rumblings that he might just have pipped St Neots-based Andy for the crown. A big crowd had gathered with the news of Ben’s weight and after the first net total was announced, the nerves were jangling. The second weigh confirmed that Andy had won the match but only just me a mere narrow 5oz margin with 98-4-0 – the closest in the event’s history. However, it could have been a very different story had Andy not switched rigs half way through the match.

“The heavy ripple caused by the strong wind started to swamp my rig, so I jumped off my box, grabbed another top kit and set up a bigger rig with a more visible bristle,” Andy explained.

The change ensured he was able to present a big worm on the deck at 14m over chopped worm and caste feed, which he potted in after every two or three fish and Andy took all of his fish on this approach despite the odd look shallow with no joy.
Remarkably, Andy, a finalist in this year’s Fish O’Mania, only just secured his place in the final by the narrowest of margins, clinching the last qualifying place from the Preston Innovations Festival by a single point and a better aggregate weight over a number of anglers on the same 31 point total!

“I am absolutely over the moon. To win something like this is a feat I thought I would only ever dream of achieving,” Andy reflected. “It still hasn’t quite sunk in to be honest. I was the last to draw, and peg 16 - the favourite peg on Jenny’s - was left in the bag for me. I guess it was just my day!”

“I caught fishing a whole worm on the deck over regular feed of chopped worm and caster and managed to keep fish coming steadily throughout of the day but halfway through the match, I was told that I was in front, so I tried to keep the fish coming and keep the pressure on,” he continued. “I actually didn’t realise that Ben had caught as well as he had, so I was very relieved when I found out I had done enough I’d also like to say a big thank you to the sponsors, Parkdean, who make the event possible.”

Runner up Ben had an agonising wait to see if he had stolen the crown after an impressive display of shallow fishing on the long pole saw him make up for a slow first hour, which probably cost him first place. His shallow pellets tactics and high catch rate attracted a large crowd, who watched as at one point Ben bagged 19 F1s in just 30 minutes.

The weather played a big part in the match, as a stiff breeze pushed the bigger fish up the lake to the high-numbered pegs, where a number of big carp turned up early doors for Ed Warren, Lee Kerry and Matt Godfrey. The action was short lived, however, and the wind dropped and the bites slowed and it was worse for the anglers in the low-numbered pegs, as there was little action from big fish until the last hour when, by then, it had become a two-horse race. That last hour did see a big push from England young gun Matt, but time ran out and he had to be content with 77-5-0 for a third place.

Parkdean’s Regional Director, Stephen Griffiths, who presented the winner’s cheque and new Master's trophy, congratulated the winner: “A big congratulations to Andy. It has been one of the most exciting matches in the events 14-year history, and the closest finish to date. It really was a riveting match to watch.”

Result: 1 A Leathers, Browning Hot Rods, 98-4-0; 2 B Fisk, Middy, 97-15-0; 3 M Godfrey, Match Fishing Magazine, 77-5-0; 4 S Russell, Tackle UK, 62-4-0; 5 S Colclough, Maver Image, 57-3-0; 6 T Rowe, Preston Innovations Thatcher’s, 56-3-0; 7 N Machin, Garbolino/Bag ‘Em Baits, 50-12-0; 8 G Malham, Malman Floats, 48-3-0; 9 E Warren, Preston Innovations, 45-8-0; 10 A Nelson, Browning Quaker, 38-1-0; 11 L Kerry, Preston Innovations, 32-14-0; 12 D Shipp, Preston Innovations, 28-6-0; 13 R Wootton, Shimano/Dynamite Baits, 26-6-0; 14 M Holmes, Leeds, 24-14-0; 15 N Speed, Shimano/Dynamite Baits, 23-8-0; 16 J Dent, MAP/Bag ‘Em Baits, 21-13-0; 17 C Hughes, Sensas/Rive, 20-7-0; 18 S Ringer, Daiwa/Guru, 20-5-0; 19 R Hull, Garbolino, 18-14-0; 20 A Power, Preston Innovations Thatcher’s, 16-2-0; 21 H Billing, Team Mosella Garbolino, 15-0-0; 22 S Fry, Garbolino, 14-11-0; 23 S Conway, Lichfield, 13-8-0; 24 N McKinnon, Preston Innovations, 9-2-0.

 





Teenager banks 31lb mirror after piercing finger with hook

Teenager Kai Richards overcame piercing his finger with a hook to land this 31lb 6oz mirror.

Disaster struck the 13-year-old Hampshire angler as he set up his first rod on a local venue.

The Gardner-backed youngster explained: “The rod slipped off my bivvy and the hook went into my finger! Fortunately my mate just managed to pull it out, so I could actually fish the night and not wait in the hospital for hours.”

Having regained his composure, Kai was spodding over one of his spots when he received a screaming take. After a weed-hindered fight, he eventually netted a seldom-caught 25lb 6oz mirror known as the Bream.

After an uneventful night and following day, Kai introduced another 5kg of particles and 3kg of Mainline Cell and Hybrid boilies. At 11am the next morning, he got the bite he wanted.

He said: “It weeded me up soon after the take but after steady pressure I managed to get it all moving again. As it neared the edge I could see a big ball of weed and somewhere in the middle I could just make out the head of a carp. It was slowly coming towards the net but as soon as the weed uncovered its head it shot down in the margins. After steadily leading it back, my mate quickly slipped the net under it. We instantly recognised it as Pablo and it weighed in at 31lb 6oz!”

Kai used blowback rigs made 25lb Sly Skin, a size 6 Covert Incizor hook and a 3oz lead. 

 


14lb zander from River Severn

The smallest baits can sometimes fool the biggest fish as Barry McConnell found out when he took this 14lb 11oz zander from the River Severn.

After selecting to target a renowned stretch on the lower part of the waterway, the Derbyshire-based predator fanatic rigged up a semi-bolt rig with two double hooks and used bleak deadbaits.

Action was almost instant with a steady stream of fish to just over 8lb coming to the net but he had to wait until later in the day for his biggest of the season so far to turn up.
“I’d cast to a shallower area of the river as I was confident the fish would be held up there. I have now caught 124 zander this season and I’ll certainly be trying to catch an even bigger specimen in the coming weeks,” explained Barry.

 


13lb 12oz Soar barbel triumph

You don’t need to sign up to an expensive syndicate water to land big fish as James Wainwright found out when he banked a 13lb 12oz barbel from a club stretch of the River Soar.

The Loughborough Soar AC member fed a large bed of hemp and pellets over a slow moving area of the peg before presenting a 15mm boilie over the top.

His decision to use a big offering paid off shortly afterwards and after a tense battle the specimen rolled over the waiting land net.

It was beaten thanks to a rig that consisted of an 18 inch coated braid hooklink and a size 8 hook.

For more details on the club visit www.loughboroughsoarangling.co.uk

 


44lb conger eel beached

A cod fishing session produced a surprise for Sam Quilliam when he won the battle with this huge 44lb conger eel.

The specimen smashes his personal best for the species by over 40lb and almost stripped the line completely off his reel when it took off with his lugworm hookbait that was attached to a 2/0 pulley pennel rig.

It took the 23-year-old from Southampton over 20-minutes to finally beat the eel and after he’d recovered from his ordeal he finished off his session with a catch made up of black bream, plaice and his first ever cod caught from the beach.


Chew perch tops 4lb

A day with a local expert paid off for George and Alex Mason as they landed a raft of big perch to 4lb 2oz during a session on Chew Valley Reservoir.

The father and son duo hired the services of John Horsey and were advised to shun lures and other popular predator tactics in favour of fly fishing at the Bristol water.
It was a ploy that brought about instant results and within a frantic two hour period they managed to net 26 perch.

By the end of the outing George had taken specimens to 3lb 11oz while Alex took the biggest of the day and broke his personal best in the process.

 



Autumn campaign off to flying start with 43lb mirror carp

Matt Jackson battled a windswept southern pit to get his autumn campaign off to the best possible start with this 43lb 8oz mirror.

The 25-year-old Wiltshire rod had a frustrating day in the teeth of a big wind before eventually finding a spot he wanted to fish.

The Greys and Chub-backed angler explained: “The wind was so strong that I couldn’t even feel the lead down at anything over about 50 yards. It was literally impossible to find an area I would have been happy fishing, so the marker rod was chucked back in the motor and it was time to think of a plan B.”

After visiting a smaller lake nearby, and finding it very busy, Matt returned to big pit an hour before darkness.

“Quite often the wind will ease just before dark so I stopped back in at the big pit for a last-gasp look in hope I could salvage the day,” said Matt.

Having found an area on the back of a bar at 140 yards, Matt managed to get some bait and three hinged stiff rigs on to the spot.

He said: “The wind really picked up again in the night and I had a good feeling that there would be at least a few fish on such a warm strong wind. First light produced nothing and no signs of fish at all, but out of the blue at 10am one of the rods went into absolute meltdown. After coaxing it from weedbed to weedbed I finally slipped the net under what looked to be quite a decent fish. At 43lb 8oz she was a very nice welcome-back offering, made even sweeter after the previous day’s events.”