Giant zander from the River Severn
A quest to land a British record zander gathered momentum this week when Gary Bagley boated this huge 18lb 4oz fish from the River Severn.
The 56-year-old, from Stourport – who doesn’t fish for any other species - has now banked three fish over the 18lb-mark and his latest specimen came just after darkness on his local waterway.
This single-minded approach to his fishing has seen him gain an in-depth understanding of the resident zander’s feeding patterns which allowed him to position his legered coarse deadbait on size 8 trebles in the right place at the right time.
“It’s a real dream of mine to beat the current British record of 21lb 5oz that was caught from this river in 2007. I never lose sight of what I’ve achieved already, though, as three fish over 18lb is mind-blowing,” Gary told Angling Times.
“As soon as I lifted the rod I knew it was a special fish and even though I’ve caught lots of big zander, nothing can ever completely prepare you for the awesome sight of a big zander as its eyes reflect menacingly in the light of the head torch.”
