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.
In General News, Match Fishing News, Latest catches Tags latest catches, match fishing, river fishing, bleak