1,184 fish make up remarkable river catch!

SOMETIMES the smallest fish can win matches – just ask James Robbins, who netted 1,184 bleak in five hours to prevail in a contest on the River Wye recently.

Fishing a RiverFest qualifier in Hereford, James made the most of low and clear river conditions from peg 76 in an area known as The Railings to put together a 47lb 4oz bag on his way to top spot.

James, who works as UK brand manager for tackle firm Cadence, had begun by targeting big perch, but quickly realised a change of tactics was needed.

“I was fishing a whole lobworm but it was getting destroyed by bleak!” he told us.

“After 25 minutes I made the switch and from then on it was mad fishing.”

James set himself a target of 1,000 fish, and after getting into a rhythm was on the road to victory.

“At the weigh-in, someone mentioned that the catch might be a new bleak record for the Wye. I’m waiting for that to be confirmed and looking forward to the final on the Trent,” he said.

James and his amazing Wye match-winning net of 1,184 bleak.