25lb-plus pike really takes the biscuit!

IT’S been a week of shock captures, and none more so than that of schoolboy Harvey Booth, who banked a 25lb-plus pike on a floating dog biscuit!

The 12-year-old from Worksop, Notts, had been fishing seriously only for a few months, but he left thousands of dedicated predator anglers envious when he won the battle with his first-ever pike during a session at the SYPAC-controlled Westwoodside Lakes.

Relying on a surface fishing attack, he was soon getting plenty of action from the resident carp, but then the day took an unexpected twist.

Harvey’s dad, Andy, was on hand to witness the lad bank the unlikely personal best.

“As soon as the fish took the bait we knew it was a lot bigger than anything we had landed that day, but when a huge pike came to the surface 20 minutes after hooking it we were both gobsmacked,” he told Angling Times.

“It was Harvey’s first-ever pike and by far the biggest fish of any species he has ever landed.

“He has only started taking fishing seriously this year, but this unbelievable catch has really whetted his appetite to get on the bank a lot more often,” he added.

He wasn’t the only angler to record a surprise personal best – Craig Allington landed a 15lb salmon while targeting pike and perch on a day-ticket stretch of the Dorset Stour.

Helping a friend catch his first predator was the objective of the day, but the limelight was soon on Craig, who said: “The lure fishing set-up I used was really undergunned for a fish of this size, but it was just one of those days when everything went my way.

“It only took five minutes to land and it is a catch I will never forget for the rest of my angling career.”

Last but certainly not least, River Trent enthusiast Lee Chapman got a lot more than he bargained for when he banked a 21lb 8oz pike from Cromwell Weir on the River Trent.

The predator swallowed a legered 12mm halibut pellet that was intended for barbel.