15 year wait for biggest eel

FOUR lobworms fished over a bed of dead maggots helped Roman Vann catch one of the largest reported eels of the season in the shape of this 5lb 12oz specimen.

The fine catch, which was recorded during a 24-hour session on a southern gravel pit, was a moment of pure joy for the Hampshire-based specialist because it meant that he’d smashed his previous eel best of 4lb 15oz after 15 years of trying!

“This pit has a reputation for eels and I’ve caught a few smaller ones from there recently, although I just knew there were bigger to be had,” Roman told us.
“After Spombing out the dead maggots to my chosen spot, I fished four lobworms on my trusty Dyson rig over the top and it didn’t take long to work!
“The fight from the eel was extremely hard and it had my sturdy carp rod buckled right over, with the clutch of my reel ticking as I tried to wind it in.
“There’s just no way a 5lb carp or tench would have done that to that rod.”

The 5lb 12oz fish wasn’t the only eel to be caught by the 28-year-old during the trip either, with a four-pounder also falling to his Dyson-rigged lobworms.

Roman adds:

“The Dyson rig has been a revelation for me this season because every single eel has been hooked square in the top lip, as opposed to being deep hooked.”

The Dyson rig is great at catching big eels