Two huge orfe bagged by specialists

Perseverance paid off for Mike Lyddon when he fooled this beautiful 6lb 3oz 8dr golden orfe. The Gardner Tackle-backed angler visited a southern stillwater and scoured the venue intensely for signs of the brightly coloured species – and soon spotted a couple cruising around on the surface. He gained their confidence by firing in one maggot at a time and got them feeding close to the bank.

                 Mike Lyddon's 6lb 3oz 8dr golden orfe

       Paul Elt bagged this 5lb 8oz specimen. 

It was a ploy that worked a treat, as the giant fish fell for his freelined white maggot within seconds of it being dropped in. Hydroflo mainline to a 3lb Target fluorocarbon hooklength and a size 20 hook secured his prize. The allure of such brightly-coloured specimens also proved too much for Drennan-backed Paul Elt, who made a five-hour round trip from his home in Cambridgeshire to a stillwater in the south to slip the net under a 5lb 8oz fish. His feeder tactics also landed tench and several smaller orfe.