best river zander brace of all time!

This is believed to be the biggest pair of zander ever caught from a river.

The fish weighed 15lb 11oz and 14lb 7oz, and were banked by Ian Wilson when he targeted a stretch of his beloved River Trent.

Both came in an action-packed 15-minute spell. The smaller of the two predators was the first to take a legered lamprey, followed by the 15lb-pounder that fell to a roach deadbait.

And the excitement didn’t end there. As darkness was falling the Worksop, Notts-based specialist slipped the net under a third zander weighing 11lb 4oz as he was packing up.

“I was in a swim that I hadn’t fished for a couple of years, but I just had a hunch that it could produce the goods. 

“The river seemed to be in perfect condition, as it was around 18ins up and holding a good colour,” Ian told Angling Times.

“The 14lb 7oz fish was put into my retainer while I prepared myself to weigh it and take a quick photo. Next thing I knew the roach was taken by an even bigger zander. It was an incredible 15 minutes of fishing.”

Ian fished simple rigs made up with components including a 50lb braided reel line, 28lb Drennan wire trace and two size 8 trebles.

“I had a call from my mate who’d landed a 15lb 4oz barbel, so I wound in to go and help him with pictures and so on,” Ian continued.

“My zander rods were cast back out while I packed my gear away, only for one of them to rattle off again to the 11-pounder.

“I’ve caught two doubles before, but to get three fish of this calibre in one session from the Trent truly is a dream come true.”

This trio of zander for the river fishing fanatic comes hot on the heels of Ian’s capture of a huge Trent pike that topped the scales at 32lb 11oz.