Taking the pain for a giant rudd

ENDURING nettle stings, cuts and wet feet was worth it for Simon Irvine, who lured this 3lb 2oz rudd from a snaggy swim.

The 46-year-old from Cambridgeshire spotted a shoal of big fish hugging a reedbed on a Fenland river and waded through near-bank foliage to make a cast. 

The giant rudd devoured his floatfished breadflake at the very first time of asking.

Simon Irvine and his 3lb 2oz Fen rudd