10-year quest for double-figure zander ends with Trent monster

DARREN Clarke smashed his 10-year quest for a double-figure zander out of the park when he finally slipped his net under this pristine 16lb 9oz specimen.

Targeting a stretch of the tidal Trent where he’d caught zander from before, the 47-year-old specimen hunter banked a string of small zeds on legered roach deadbaits before striking into a much larger fish just before dusk.

“When it surfaced a rodlength out I knew that I’d had my ‘double’, but it was only when I lifted her up in the net that I realised this was a very special zander,” Darren said.