43lb 8oz mirror gives its captor a right run-around

The General lived up to its hard-fighting reputation by giving Sam Mee’s tackle a stern test at a Hampshire stillwater.

The 43lb 8oz brute beat the 24-year-old’s personal best by over 5lb and fell during a weekend session at a Ringwood lake.

“The fight was filled with long, powerful runs but the initial run must have been a good 30 yards,” said the mechanic “The fish is known for a great fight and it kited right and left, weeding me up too!”

The Dorset angler added: “Effort is key over here and I had been walking its banks during the week to keep me in touch. I knew where the fish had been holding up and after talking to a couple anglers it seemed they hadn’t moved too far during the week.

“I had a walk round a large chunk of the lake and saw a few fish showing themselves a fair bit further out than I could fish, as quite often seems the way. “However, I was confident and pretty sure that they would turn up on me the next morning, so I dropped into a gap. After a quiet night, I set the alarm early and was up just after first light.

“A few fish were showing in my zone and by 10.30am I was into a fish which ripped off at a rate of knots.”

Sam fished CC Moore pop-ups on hinged stiff rigs on lead clips and leadcore.