Greatest ever winter rudd haul topped by brace of mid twos - Andy Waters
“With work finished for the day I raced down to a Fenland river to fish a deep
spot that I’d caught a 3lb rudd from a few years ago.“After getting into position I cast out a cage feeder filled with liquidised bread with a piece of flake on the hook and began introducing small balls of loose feed by hand.
“By casting every five minutes or so I was able to build up a pretty big area of feed that I’d hope would be enough to draw the rudd’s attention. As it turned out they absolutely loved it and the more I fed the more bites I seemed to get!
“I’d already had a couple of fish when I had another sharp whack on the tip and struck into a hard-fighting rudd, which I needed to bully away from the shoal and into the net as quickly as possible to avoid spooking the rest.
“If they do get into the shoal it’s pretty much game over.
“At 2lb 11oz it was the largest of four over 2lb that I caught in four hours, with the others going 2lb, 2lb 6oz and 2lb 9oz.
“It was my greatest ever winter rudd session but I reckon I could have kept catching had I not ran out of bait!”
Andy Waters – 2lb 11oz and 2lb 9oz rudd
Early start the trick to huge specimen rudd capture
AN EARLY morning raid on a Fenland river turned up trumps for Matt Delabruyere in the shape of a new PB rudd of 3lb 4oz.
Just before first light, the 30-year-old from Colchester baited his near and far-bank margins with 50p-sized pieces of bread and listened for signs of feeding rudd before casting out.
Sure enough, before long a large fish swirled at his loose offerings as the sun began to creep over the horizon, as he explains:
“This rudd came up right under my feet and started taking my freebies extremely delicately,” he says.
“My hook was already baited and while hiding behind a huge reedbed I gently lowered in my floating bread. Eventually the fish came up again, engulfed the lot and sank down into the darkness.
“A sharp upward strike set the hook and after a nervy battle, where this old warrior tried every trick in the book to avoid capture, it eventually slid sideways into the net.”
After climbing up the bank through stinging nettles, Matt finally got to set eyes on the biggest rudd he’d ever seen.
He added:
“I just stood there in awe. It’s a fish that I’m incredibly proud of.”
Matt Delabruyere and his 3lb 4oz rudd
20 mile walk pays off for big rudd - Simon Ashton
“During my first trip to the Fens I learned that travelling light and going the extra mile (or 10) is the way to go for big rudd.
“It was a Thursday, and despite a 250-mile journey from my home in Country Durham to Cambridgeshire, I arrived at the river for 6pm.
“Floatfishing has always been my preferred tactic for rudd so I packed my 14ft Drennan Acolyte rod with a reel loaded with 5lb line.
“My rig was simple, too – a 5g pellet waggler wedged between float stops above a wide gape hook for corn and breadflake hookbaits.
“Between 6.30pm and 2am I’d walked probably three miles and although I’d caught loads of rudd to around 1lb, I just couldn’t find anything bigger.
“The slog along the bank was long, but I was only scratching the surface on what’s a massive river, so I went to bed with a plan to wake at 6am and just keep walking the river until I spotted the larger rudd.
“As the hours passed and the miles and heat increased, scouring the water for signs of fish became hard. At 10am I finally saw what looked like a pod of big rudd so I crept down to the bank around 60 yards upstream before flicking out a few pieces of crust followed by my rig
“It took 10 minutes for the float to reach the area, but it sailed away instantly. I was into a big fish and at first I thought it was a trout by the way it zig-zagged up the river, but the sun soon caught the golden flanks of a huge rudd.
“At 2lb 7oz it was just 3oz short of my PB but I didn’t care – I’d caught a big rudd on my first trip to the Fens!
Simon Ashton – 2lb 7oz rudd
“I put the miles in again on the Saturday and banked a number of other big rudd between 1lb and 2lb 1oz. When I set off for home I was exhausted as I’d only had 10 hours’ sleep in three days and walked 20 miles – but it was worth it.”
A beautiful Fen rudd
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
Cam the place to be for a giant rudd!
THE River Cam further cemented its position as one of the greatest big rudd venues in the country when it produced a brace of 3lb specimens in two days.
The larger of the pair weighed 3lb 3oz and fell to Joe Royffe, who struck gold after he trotted breadflake down the centre of the river.
He said:
“It was a bit of a heart-in-mouth moment as I battled it through the marginal lily pads!”
Joe Royffe and his 3lb 3oz specimen rudd
Just a day later, all-rounder Simon Baker landed a stunning 3lb 2oz specimen.
It was a new personal best for the 30-year-old, who watched as the fish slurped down his breadcrust offering from the water’s surface.
Simon Baker and his 3lb 2oz Cam rudd
Floatfished corn tempts beautiful river rudd
The opening of the river season couldn’t have gone much better for Cambridgeshire angler John Turton, who slipped his net under this stunning 3lb 6oz rudd.
Living on a narrow boat, John hasn’t been able to move about much during the past few months, but landing this new personal best specimen certainly made the long wait for angling action worthwhile.
“I’d found a group of good fish in a small drain,” John reveals,
“and caught quite a few over the 2lb mark on floatfished corn before landing the three-pounder.
“Once I hooked it, the fish fought really strangely,” he adds, “and initially I thought that perhaps I was attached to a small tench.
“When I realised it was a rudd you can imagine my reaction. They’re such a stunning fish at all sizes, but this one was a truly impressive sight to behold.”
John fell into angling just six years ago when his mate told him to keep an eye on his rod.
“He passed me his rod to look after while he went and did something and by some crazy chance, I ended up catching a fish! I’ve been hooked since then, and my next aims are to catch a zander, chub and river carp.”
John Turton and his 3lb 6oz rudd
Rudd record rocked by huge specimen
The British rudd record was almost beaten recently with the capture of a 4lb 7oz specimen by Joshua Dorka.
This huge rudd of 4lb 7oz was just 3oz short of the record
It falls just 3oz short of the official record of 4lb 10oz, and was banked by the Rotherham, South Yorks rod from his local syndicate water. Joshua (24) targeted a spot around 30 yards out, where he’d spotted a handful of large rudd rolling.
“I usually fish for the carp on this lake, but I’ve been saying for a while that I’d have a go for the big rudd. I’m glad I did!” he reveals.
“I used leger tactics with a small, chopped down pop-up on my lighter rudd rod, alongside my two carp rods, to single out the big fish.”
The bite came at 11.30pm and Joshua netted a fish that he ranks among the best he’s ever caught.
“I’ve well and truly got the big-rudd bug now, and a few days later I returned and banked two more which weighed 3lb 7oz and 3lb 1oz.”