One of the best eel hauls ever...

40ft-deep Cambridgeshire gravel pit has accounted for one of the greatest eel hauls ever recorded, in the shape of 15 fish to a best of 5lb 2oz.

The phenomenal catch was accumulated in a single night session by Airfield Lakes Fishery owner Richard Wilby, who fished triple lobworm hookbaits to tempt the big ‘snigs’ into a feed. 

When Angling Times spoke to Richard about the catch he explained that he targeted the venue only after he discovered a carp angler had caught an eel by mistake, and so he decided to target them himself.

He added: “It was a dream session where my hunch paid off. The two-hour drive to get to a lake I had never seen before was well worth it.

“Overall I banked 15 eels in a spell from 7.30pm to 3am.

“The action was crazy and all witnessed by my mate Adam Holmes, who was carp fishing a couple of swims away – I had to keep borrowing his net as I had a few double runs. 

“Most of the eels were big, over 3lb in fact – but I had a couple of fours, then a whacker of 5lb 2oz.”

Richard’s rigs incorporated 15lb mainline with a simple running rig and a 3oz lead. On the business end he used 20lb wire traces attached to size 6 barbless hooks, to which he tied PVA bags containing blood meal, micro halibut pellets and dead maggots.

“Large eels like this are increasingly rare, and it was a privilege to see them and fish a water where the population is still high,” Richard added.