Fishing two over nighters a week apart, Paul Rudd has bank the mirror known as Colin, St Ives’ biggest known specimen at a weight of 46lb 4oz and The Black Pig rom the venue’s Lagoon at 40lb 6oz.
Paul, the boss of Denham Bait Innovations, decided to fish at the huge complex of lakes after helping out a friend with a new tackle shop not far from the lakes. On his first night he decided to target the residents of The Shallows, starting off by walking the bank to find the fish before having to clear a swim to get his bait out next to a weed bed at short range.
After introducing half a kilo of his company’s own Game On! Boilies over both of his rods, Paul presented a balanced bait on a size 6 ESP Raptor hook to a long hook length of Sufix Stealth Skin. It was an approach that paid off when at 2.30am he had a run from the big mirror which gave Paul a new personal best when it hit the bank a short while later.
The following week saw Paul back again, and this time he headed for the venue’s famous Lagoon.
“I used to fish The Lagoon and was luck enough to catch The Lady back in the ‘90s at over 40lb,” Paul told ACF. “After that I never went again, but 13 years on I really fancied going back after The Black Pig and this was the perfect opportunity.”
Employing exactly the same tactics that had resulted in Colin, Paul settled in for the night, before a little after midnight his alarm sounded.
“As soon as I struck the fish it weeded me up,” continued Paul. “I eventually managed to get it free and then it kited off up the lake before turning and heading straight back towards me, wrapping the line over some branches. It was a bit of a trial and it took a while, but I eventually got it in the net.”
Unbelievably the capture of these two highly sought after fish saw Paul put just 5.5 rod hours in each.
“It’s an unbelievable achievement,” added Paul, “my luck’s obviously on. I’m now going to try my hand on Meadow Lake and see if I can make it three in a row.”
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And to learn more about Denham Bait Innovations, Click here
