Huge 21lb bream landed after angler's 19-year campaign
This giant bream, weighing 21lb 6oz, was caught from a 90-acre stillwater in the North West.
Robert Machin’s ‘catch of a lifetime’ came when he targeted the ultra-tough venue where it’s common for bream anglers to go years without a bite.
With the help of a boat, the 51-year-old Tenchfishers member deposited two bucketfuls of groundbait, chopped boilies, hemp and tiger nuts over a spot just over 100 yards from the bank.
His alarm broke the silence at 2am, following the first night of a four-day session. Robert’s personal best bream had picked up a single 12 mm Sticky Baits Manilla boilie fished on a helicopter rig made with a coated braid hooklink and a size 10 hook.
“I’ve recently returned to the water after a four-year break. I just needed a rest from this style of fishing and this venue, because it’s very tough and demanding,” Robert told Angling Times.
“Mine was a fish that’s been out a few times over the past few seasons, so I had to have a go for it – it’s not going to be around forever. It’s not about pounds and ounces. It’s about the angling challenge that fish and venues like this present, and this catch means a great deal to me.
“For the last 19 years I’ve been after big bream, and my previous personal best was 17lb 10oz from the same venue.
“But even that didn’t prepare me for the shock when I saw this colossal fish in the net under the light of my head torch. It’s a moment that I will never forget.”
