UK Champs victory on first Boddington trip

Boddington Reservoir made its Old Ghost UK Angling Championships debut for the third round. 

Some areas proved hard, but others provided plenty of bites from the Northants venue’s big carp, and South Yorkshire youngster Alex Dockerty won the match with a level 140-0-0.

Twenty-year-old Alex, from Hatfield Woodhouse, won on his very first visit to the venue, using Method feeder, bomb and pellet waggler tactics to net 19 carp and take the £1,000 cheque for winning the round.

Second spot went to the ever-consistent Andy Power with 134-6-0, with Surrey’s Robbie Taylor ending up in third on 119-2-0.

Pegs in the 90s and early 100s were the ones to draw, as Alex topped the shop at peg 107 with Andy not far away on peg 97.

“This was my first visit to Boddington. Everyone said that my peg was in a good area, so I went to it at least happy that I would catch a few,” said university student and Lindholme Lakes tackle shop worker Alex. “The plan was to begin on the Method feeder and give it an hour to see how it went. If I caught then I’d stick to the feeder but if not, my back-up was a bomb line at 30m where I could also fish the pellet waggler and swap between the two.”

Beginning with a 60m chuck on the pellet Method using a small orange boilie on the hook, Alex netted his first carp after 10 minutes to settle his nerves, adding another in the remainder of that opening hour. That prompted him to throw the bomb over where he’d been pinging in three 8mm pellets regularly.

“First chuck with an 8mm pellet I got a carp and from then on it was steady – not a bite a chuck but enough indications and bites to keep the interest up,” he continued. 

“The change to the pellet waggler came when I got liners regularly on the bomb. The float was set 3ft deep and cast every 15 seconds, with most bites coming as soon as it settled. I caught 11 fish on this, including two 15lb carp, six on the bomb and those two on the feeder.”

Result: 1 Alex Dockerty, Garbolino Lindholme/Bag ‘Em Baits, 142-0-0; 2 Andy Power, Preston Innovations, 134-6-0; 3 Robbie Taylor, Daiwa Dorking, 119-2-0.

Section winners: A - Damien Brierley, 75-8-0; B - Jason Brown, 65-0-0; C - Ady Hull, 34-10-0; D - Mark Fox, 66-0-0; E - Joe Wheeldon, 63-12-0; F - Steve Cooke, 81-9-0; G - Jason LeBosquet, 98-2-0; H - Rob Wootton, 80-0-0

11 doubles in huge bag of bream!

One of the greatest-ever hauls of double-figure bream has been taken from a Nottingham gravel pit... and Angling Times was there to photograph it!

Mark Perkins used simple feeder tactics to land no fewer than 11 double-figure fish to a best of over 13lb when we joined him on the banks of Nottingham AA’s Attenborough Nature Reserve.

During the memorable session the Dynamite Baits and Shimano-backed rod feeder-fished worm and maggot hookbaits to take 15 fish in just a few hours’ fishing at a water he believes is one of the finest bream venues in the UK.

“This place is incredible, and everything just came together on the day, said Mark, from Bingham, Notts. “The fact that I made such a fantastic catch with Angling Times photographer Lloyd Rogers on the bank with me made it even better.”

“We only decided to go there the night before I fished, so if I’d had more time I would have put some bait in leading up to the session. Who knows what I’d have had if I’d got more fish in the area?”

With a strong wind blowing into his face on the bank of the windsurfing lake, which is part of the Notts complex, Mark fished a groundbait feeder at 25 yards.

It was packed with pellets and casters, then plugged at each end with groundbait. All of Mark’s fish were beaten with 6lb mainline and a 0.16 mm hooklink attached to a size 14 hook.

“The wind had been blowing into that bank for about a week so I knew the fish would be there and that there was no need to cast too far out,” Mark continued.

“One of the biggest tips for catching the really big bream is to introduce plenty of pellets through the feeder. Lots of carpers fish this water and the bream have become used to feeding on the pellets they introduce.”

Dave Turner, secretary of Nottingham AA, is excited about the reserve’s potential.

“This lake has always been known for huge catches of big bream and the average size of the fish just keeps improving every year,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there’s a 20-pounder in there because it’s such a rich, healthy water and lots of high-protein bait is introduced by carp anglers. Anyone interested in fishing here should contact me,” he added.

Daiwa Dorking are World Club champs!

Daiwa Dorking have lifted the World Club Championships in San Marino – the first English club to be crowned champions since Essex County back in the 1980s.
They did it in style on San Marino’s Ostellato Canal, winning both days of action against 27 other teams from around Europe to finish on 23 points, four in front of Italian locals and red hot favourites Lenza Emiliana Tubertini.
England men William Raison, Des Shipp, Simon Willsmore, Callum Dicks and Darren Davies, plus Welsh international Lee Edwards, went all out for bream and skimmers in searing 40ºC heat, leaving boss Steve Sanders bursting with pride. “We were third a few years back, but this is the one we so badly wanted to win,” he said. “The team were awesome, professional and full of confidence.
“The fishing was very physical and I doubt that many anglers could do what was required,” he continued.
“In the 10-minute prebaiting period we fed a crazy amount made up of 12 litres of groundbait made into 17 balls and thrown in, then six more cupped in, topped off with 20 balls of leam potted in, all at 13m. We managed this with around five seconds remaining!”
Dorking had worked out how to catch both small and large fish by feeding just the once. The groundbait would catch small skimmers for the opening few hours, before the leam kicked in to pick off the bonus skimmers and bream.
“As ever on international matches, end pegs in the sections seemed to be best, so when we got five middle pegs on day one, I feared for us – but the lads were phenomenal. To finish three points out in front was a brilliant result,” Steve enthused.
“Day two gave us better pegs, but on many sections there wasn’t much in it. Callum caught a catfish to nick the section from the Italian and Lee was struggling until his leam kicked in and he went from having 300g with two hours to go to weighing over 7kg for good points.”
Joker, casters and hemp went into both the groundbait and heavy, sticky leam mixes, each angler topping up when the bites faded with a small ball. The signal to try for better fish came when a big skimmer was caught, often around 90 minutes to two hours into the match. That would see three or four bloodworms fished overdepth.
Added Steve: “The Italian side knew the venue well and didn’t practise properly in the first few days but we were emptying the place, catching up to 30kg.
They saw this, got back on their boxes and started to take it seriously.”

Result: 1 Daiwa Dorking, 23pts (11 12); 2 Lenza Emiliana Tubertini, 27 (14 13); 3 MMX Tubertini, 44; 4 RS Crazy Boys Maver, 50; 5 Sensas 28, 52; 6 Sensas Ntra Sra Del Prado, 54; 7 Triple A Milo, 56; 8 Drennan, 57; 9 SPS Serravalle Maver, 59; 10 Fishing Tackle Max, 61; 11 Team Dunaev, 67; 12 Maver Zammataro, 70; 13 Fish Dream, 71; 14 DGBF Belgique, 78; 15 Lempaalan KK Colmic, 78; 16 Sumadija, 80; 17 SRZ Powazska Bistrica Sensas, 81; 17 Pesnica-Sensas Slovenjia, 81; 19 Corvin Hunedoara II Trabucco, 83; 20 Eko Fishing, 86; 21 Virtus Fishing Team Sensas, 88; 22 SRD Rak-Raktje, 90; 23 Constellation Stockholm, 95; 24 Clube de Pesca de Competicao, 102; 25 US RGD Jelah Tesanj, 104; 26 Tubertini Team Ireland Fermoy CA, 109; 27 Sportfescherverain Stadtbredimus, 123; 28 Odense Sportsfisker Klub, 131.

Fish O’Mania final was ‘the best ever’

Organisers of Fish O’Mania have labelled this year’s final ‘the best ever’ and have already started work on planning the next campaign.
Thousands of people tuned in to watch the action unfold and were treated to arguably the most thrilling final in the history of the tournament.
It wasn’t until the dying stages that the winner became clear, with Andy May just about doing enough to see off a talented field and bag the coveted trophy and £50,000 top prize.
Host venue Cudmore Fisheries had been subject to criticism from some quarters after weights dwindled during the 2014 and 2015 finals, but the Staffordshire complex bounced back in style.
Tournament owners Matchroom Sport were delighted at the event and Media Director Luke Riches told Angling Times: “It was an amazing final that saw the 16 anglers share over 600lb of fish between them – that is more than double what was landed last year.
“The Arena Lake was always going to take time to settle down from draining and restocking, and it has certainly done that now.
“There were four different leaders and the lead changed hands six times. The runner-up spot for £10,000 was not decided until the very last weigh-in... how’s that for drama?”
Champion Andy May was in full agreement that the final will live long in the memory, and he said: “The staff at Cudmore have got the stocking spot-on, and it made for a fantastic match that was alive until the very end.”
Discussions have already been held to decide the format of next year’s tournament, and Luke hinted that changes could be made for 2017.
“We saw the event as a huge success but we have had plenty of feedback from anglers.
“As a result of this we will be looking at tweaking the qualification process to make
Fish O’Mania even more exciting,” concluded Luke.

Cambs venue’s 61lb 4oz lake record tops feeding spell

An incredible fortnight at one of the country’s top open-access waters produced 16 thirties, eight forties, four fifties and the same 60-pounder twice.
Meadows Lake at Holme Fen Fishery in Cambridgeshire only opened last year but has already provided dozens of anglers with new personal bests.
It can be fished by anyone on a pre-booking system and owner Martin Dawson said it was an “incredible” period with “pbs being broken on a daily basis”.
The lake’s biggest resident, Captain Jack, first fell to Darren Price in a 24-hour 10-fish hit from Harry’s Swim. He caught the big mirror at 60lb 6oz along with others of 41lb 2oz and 38lb 8oz.
The following week, Barry Mann also caught Captain Jack at a new lake record of 61lb 4oz from the Dugout. Barry, who fished white pop-ups on hinged stiff rigs, also had mirrors of 48lb 4oz and 43lb 4oz.
Brothers Trevor and Darren Frisby fished for six nights and also cashed in.
Darren managed five fish, including a 48lb 10oz specimen and a 44lb 15oz fish from Party Point, while Trevor had seven to 52lb 2oz from the Dugout.
Trevor, from nearby Yaxley, told Angling Times: “It was a phenomenal week, it just blew us away. An average fish in that lake is 30lb, and I caught almost all of mine in a 24-hour period.
“We got there on Monday and within an hour of starting Darren had a new pb of 36lb 10oz.
“I had a 16lb 8oz common from Party Point Single on Tuesday morning, but then moved to the Dugout and found new spots on the Friday morning.
“Between 12pm on Friday and mid-afternoon Saturday I had five thirties and a fifty!”
Elsewhere, Graham Peach caught a 52lb 8oz mirror on his final day in the Beach, while Mark Shaw in Party Point had mirrors of 52lb 2oz and 51lb 6oz.

World predator event at Grafham Water

Gary Palmer’s huge 36lb 6oz pike

Angling Times readers are being given the chance to win some of the biggest cash prizes in predator fishing with the launch of a new lure fishing event.
Prizes worth £18,000 will be up for grabs when the first-ever UK qualifier for the hugely popular World Predator Classic (WPC) kicks off on Sunday, August 21 at Grafham Water Park in Cambridgeshire.
Hordes of anglers from across Europe have already signed up to the England World Predator Classic Boat & Kayak Qualifier, which will see the winners walk away with an all-expenses-paid entry into next year’s £70,000 World Predator Classic (WPC) held in Holland.
The ‘open to all’ qualifier, which has been organised by former England Lure International Gary Palmer, will become one of the richest non-match fishing competitions on the UK angling calendar, but Gary believes this is just the start of something huge.
“The popularity of species such as pike, perch and zander has hit an all-time high and the call for more high-profile lure events like this has become greater each year,” he said.
“The WPC has grown immensely since it started three years ago, and qualifiers have already taken place elsewhere in Europe – next year we will have one in Wales and Scotland.
“Although anyone can enter the WPC, anglers are required to use their own boat.
“That can prove expensive and difficult, so the qualifier will give more average anglers the chance to attend.”
Gary tasted success for himself in this year’s WPC just a few weeks ago, winning the largest fish award with the capture of a monster 35lb 6oz pike (pictured).
Fishing on the famous Hellevoetsluis Lake ,Tokar-backed Gary tempted the giant predator on a 4ins Spro Bomy Shaker lure.
The WPC Qualifier isn’t the only lure fishing event to be held next month. The weekend of August 6/7 will see dozens of kayak anglers take to the water in Northamptonshire for the Pitsford Kayak Grand Slam.
The competition, which is another ‘open to all’ event, has been arranged by kayak angler Dane Wood, who warmed up for the event by netting a giant personal-best 5lb perch from
an unknown water in the Cotswolds while fishing with the Ocean Kayak UK Fishing Team.

18lb 13oz zander from the Severn

The River Severn has produced a 18lb 13oz zander, Angling Times can exclusively reveal.
Current British record-holder for the species, James Benfield, legered a bleak deadbait just a few feet from the bank on the famous waterway to lure the fish.
The capture comes just nine years after the 28-year-old from Malvern, Worcs, made history by banking the 21lb 5oz British best from the same venue.
It was the slightest tap on the rod-tip that signalled the bite from the shy predator during his latest session on the rver.
“These zander are very timid, so I use my 1.45lb test curve rod like a quivertip and strike at any movement. If I hadn’t been fishing like this and relied on a bite alarm the fish might have ejected the bait before I’d have even known about it,” James told Angling Times.
His latest specimen is the highlight of a productive start to his 2016 river campaign which has produced many fish to around 7lb – but James admitted that the 18-pounder came as a shock.
“Having caught lots of small zander since the start of the season, I knew that this fish was something special straight away.
“Then these huge boils starting appearing on the surface and I just wanted it in the net. My heart was in my mouth,” he said.
“To have the record and then to catch another huge fish like this is beyond words.
“I fully appreciate what an achievement it is to land a double-figure zander, let alone two for 40lb.”
A simple running rig made up with 12lb mainline, a 3oz lead and a single size 6 treble was the winning set-up for James, who went on to bank four other zander on the day.

After 30 years on the Dove, switch to Trent sees 16lb best barbel

Incredible barbel sport on the nation’s rivers continued this week, with a host of huge fish hitting the bank.
Respected specimen all-rounder John Davey hit the jackpot on his very first visit to the River Trent with a 16lb 14oz personal-best barbel.
The 69-year-old, from Stoke-on-Trent, has fished the River Dove for over 30 years, but decided to give the in-form waterway a try.
His running rig was baited with a 16 mm Sticky Baits Krill boilie, and the hookbait was accompanied by a stringer of matching baits.
The offering was soon picked up by the specimen, that beats his previous pb by 1lb.
“This is an incredible fish for this time of the year, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it goes 19lb in the winter,” said John.
“At first I thought it was a bream, as it just plodded around, but as soon as it got into the deep water under my feet I realised how wrong my first prediction was.
“I was using a pretty big net, but you wouldn’t have thought it because the fish’s huge frame arched over in the mesh.
“It’s taken a long time to get on the Trent, but I’m getting back down there in the next few days after this,” he added.
Another angler to smash his personal best was Craig Horton, who banked two fish that many can only dream of.
Prebaiting a stretch of Farnham Angling Society’s River Loddon paid dividends as he won the battle with a 16lb specimen. He fooled it with hair-rigged pellets on a simple running rig.
It was the same tactics, but this time on a pressured free stretch of the Dorset Stour, that saw the angler – from Basingstoke, Hants – complete an incredible barbel double by slipping the net under a pristine 14lb 11oz barbel.
“These were my first two sessions of the river season, and they turned out to be my most memorable ever,” he said.

Dean Fletcher's 68lb 1oz carp is ratified as a record

The British Record Fish Committee has ratified the country’s first new carp record in eight years – and says it’s doing all it can to speed up future claims.
Dean Fletcher has been presented with a certificate to confirm his capture of the Parrot at 68lb 1oz, eclipsing Oz Holness’s 67lb 8oz record set in August 2008.
However, Dean told Angling Times the five-month wait between landing the fish and having it confirmed as the record was “absolute rubbish”.
The Berkshire greengrocer said: “The fish has been caught three times since I had it, and I was just lucky that I took it at its peak weight. If I’d caught it at a record weight in November rather than January I could be the official record-holder but someone might already have beaten it. It makes sense to verify the record as soon as possible, especially with carp, that can fluctuate in weight.”
Dean submitted his record claim within days of catching the Wasing Estate mirror and got his scales officially checked less than a fortnight later, but the British Record Fish Committee meets only twice a year to rubber stamp new records.   
He said: “I think it’s absolute rubbish. They said it was up to me to get the scales verified and they would get the stuff done as quickly as possible, but then said they wouldn’t be having a meeting until June.
“It doesn’t take too much to get a few people in a room one evening. I think the record should be confirmed as soon as the scales are verified.”
They said: Mike Heylin, chairman of the BRFC, said he sympathised with the frustrations but said that committee members come from all over Britain and cannot be brought together every time there is a new claim.
“We were really pleased to approve this record as it’s a new fish after Two Tone had bounced in and out of the records,” said Mike.
“In this instance, the freshwater sub-committee communicates electronically so there was a provisional record within a couple of weeks before the whole committee met to make it official. It used to be all done by post, and could take forever.”
Mike said scales checks caused most delays and cited the dwindling number of councils offering the service, the use of metric weights to test imperial scales and the frequent failure of officials to follow the BRFC’s strict procedures as key factors.
He added: “If I could find another way of doing it I’d bite the hand off the person who offered it. We are getting the claim process to where we want it to be, with a provisional record accepted within two or three weeks.”

Minimal baiting pays five carp to 40lb 6oz

A change of swims and a minimal bait approach helped Ross Ryder enjoy a ‘crazy day’ at Ringwood.
The Dynamite Baits-backed angler managed five fish including the Immaculate Common at
40lb 6oz and a 30lb 4oz mirror.
The Hampshire angler said: “Waking at first light, there were plenty of fish showing at close range a few pegs down from where I was.
“Flicking out blowback-style rigs did the business. All the fish fell to single hookbaits with small PVA web bags of boilie crumb covering the hook in low-lying weed.
“I managed commons of 19lb, 24lb, 27lb 14oz and 40lb 6oz, plus a 30lb 4oz mirror, making it a crazy day to remember.”

Caught in error, but what a rudd!

“This is the most stunning fish I have ever seen.”
These were the words of carp angler Luke Sparkes after he caught this magnificent specimen rudd weighing 3lb 12oz.
The Grimsby rod netted the golden-flanked beauty while fishing for carp on a North Lincolnshire syndicate, tempting it on a 12mm Nutcracker pop-up boilie.
The all-important bite came just two hours before dawn after Luke had spodded out a bed of whole and chopped boilies to a reed bed around 60 yards out.
 Luke, who has caught rudd to 3lb 3oz in the past, told Angling Times: “I feel very privileged to have caught such a wonderful fish, even if it was by accident.
“I have fished exclusively for rudd in the past, and to be honest I would prefer one of these to a monster carp any day.
“It’s just sod’s law this one came along when I was trying for another species,” he added.

Terry Dempsey’s 53lb 14oz cracker

Terry Dempsey’s first overnight fishing trip with his son ended in the capture of this 53lb 14oz personal-best common.
Having chased the massive fish for three years, the legendary carper finally slipped the net under it with son Daniel in tow.
The early Father’s Day present left the Urban Bait boss shaking. It is the latest in a trio of giant commons that Terry has landed in the last year alone.
He told Angling Times: “I have been after this big common for three years now and caught it while taking my son Daniel on his first-ever night’s fishing.”
The fish, known as the Long Common, came from a syndicate water in Kent. Terry, from Bromley, added: “The weather was cold with a fresh northerly breeze blowing into our bank, so after 24 hours of blanking I moved the rods to completely different spots and had a take within 15 minutes.
“The fight was incredible, with the fish taking 40 yards of line
off me at a time. Once it was 10 yards from the bank I knew which fish it was straight away so I started to shake.
Once on the bank we weighed the beast at 53lb 14oz, and the third different common that I have landed over 49lb in eight months.”
Reacting to a wave of congratulations on social media, Terry said the carp was bigger than his son, and added: “It’s going to take a while for this one to sink in.”

New venue for Match This final

Last year’s Maver winner Pete Upperton.

Organisers of angling’s richest competition have announced that a new venue will stage the prestigious winner-takes-all final.
The Maver Mega Match This 2016 final, which will see the winner scoop a prize pot of up to £70,000, will now be staged at Hayfield Lakes.
The prolific venue in Doncaster has taken over the hosting of the match, which used to be fished at Larford Lakes in Worcestershire.
Organisers have assured finalists that it will be ‘business as usual’ for the immensely popular event, despite recent changes to the infrastructure of tackle giant Maver UK.
The final takes place on Saturday, September 3, 2016.
For a full list of qualifier matches visit: www.mavermatchthis.co.uk

Jon Whincup bounces back for place in Maver final

Not often in match fishing do you get an immediate chance to earn redemption for a missed opportunity and qualify for a big-money final.
But Jon Whincup did just that last weekend when he booked his place in the Maver Mega Match This Final.
Last September the Frenzee/Bait-Tech postal worker had to sit and watch from the next peg as Pete Upperton powered away to the £60,000 first prize, but instead of waiting a good few years for another bite at the cherry, Jon topped the recent qualifier at Larford Lakes to take his place in what is looking to be the strongest final line-up yet.
Weighing in 157-14-0 from the Match Lake, the Cambridgeshire angler finished a comfortable winner as second-placed Ian Didcote was over 38lb in arrears. Jon obviously likes Larford as he qualified from the Worcestershire water last summer. Now the final awaits, fishing against Des Shipp, Matt Godfrey, Andy Power and Jamie Hughes to name but a few.
“My main aims this year were to win a White Acres Festival and get into the Match This Final, so I’ve already managed that and we’re only just into June – it’s not been too bad!” Jon reflected.
“I have to say that I didn’t think that the chance to get back into the final would come around that quickly, but when I drew on the qualifier I did fancy it. There were so many fish cruising around on the surface and it was obviously going to be a day for dobbing.”
Jon’s peg was 64 on the burr bank of the Match Lake, the end peg on the day with loads of big carp on the top. Dobbing an 8mm hard pellet saw Jon into fish for the first three hours, including carp well into double figures, but even he admitted that the style is seen as controversial by some. It can be ‘brain-shredding’ owing to the number of takes you miss and how many carp are spooked by the pole being waved around.
“You need a lot of fish to go at to catch well when dobbing,” he explained.
“I’d done well, but with two hours to go we had a massive rain storm and that pushed the fish from the surface down to the bottom. I’ve never seen that happen before and after that I couldn’t get a bite dobbing.”
Sensibly, Jon had fed a pellet line at 5m for fishing on the deck, and when he dropped on to this swim he caught a carp a chuck for an hour to put an estimated 50lb in his net while those around him who carried on fishing shallow went fishless.
“Now I’m back in the final the line-up is unbelievable and a bit frightening on paper, but we’ll all be in the same boat when it’s time to draw.”

Lake with 25lb pike and huge perch will open this autumn

Day-ticket anglers could soon be targeting record-breaking fish at a venue that’s opening to coarse angling for the first time ever.
Angling Times can exclusively reveal that perch to almost 6lb and monster pike will be just some of the huge fish on offer at Lake Savage later this year.
The former trout fishing venue in Theale, Berkshire, has been taken over by game fishing retailer Sportfish, which immediately drew up a raft of plans for the gravel pit.
Additionally, the fishery is being sponsored by leading specialist predator tackle manufacturer Savage Gear.
The huge potential of the new lake has already been highlighted by Savage Gear-backed Chris Lowe, who was given exclusive one-off access for a test session. He not only netted a 25lb pike while drop shotting for perch, but also heard stories of other giants.
Chris believes Lake Savage is capable of making a reality of the promise it has already shown.
“The pike I caught had already spawned, so we already know there are fish over 25lb in here – and that is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
 “A huge perch was recently discovered, and although it was dead, it weighedwell over 5lb.
“Fly anglers in the past have caught specimen stripeys, so who knows what else the lake could throw up?” he added.
Sportfish is currently in the process of making improvements to the fishery, including restocking Lake Savage to improve sport still further at the company’s new Game Fishing Centre before it opens some time this autumn.
Ian Welch, who is overseeing the project, told Angling Times: “As well as improving swims we will be netting our on-site trout lake, taking out all the pike and big perch and introducing them into our new predator lake.”
“Lake Savage has bags of potential, and I’m hoping it will whet the appetite of lure anglers who want to come and fish it.”

Finding Nemo in Suffolk fishery

This surface-caught torpedo gave Aiden Sharpe ‘by far the best fight’ he has ever had.
An early morning change of swims at Suffolk Water Park led the Ipswich angler to the 37lb 4oz mirror, which is known as Nemo.
“I was awakened by a tench at 3.30am and it didn’t look great in front of me,” said the 29-year-old, “so I decided to have a stroll up the bank to where the fish were showing the day before.
“I catapulted a few mixers out and had one carp start to feed, so I packed all my gear up and drove up to the peg.”
The self-employed builder and bricklayer then rigged up a large controller float to reach the fish, which were more than 50 yards out, and Spombed out some more mixers.
He continued: “It wasn’t long before I was bent into a hard-fighting fish. I knew it was a good one from the way it was plodding and the power it had, stripping line off me.
“It was by far the best fight I’ve had, and it managed to snag me in the reeds for a couple of minutes before powering off again.
“By this time the bailiff had come down to give me a hand with the net and after about 30 minutes I finally had it in the net. Happy days!”