(This catch featured in Angling Times magazine June 28th 2022)
Since the start of the 2021 pike season Chew Valley Lake has been in staggering form – and it shows no sign of slowing up if this 38lb fish to Devon angler Wayne Thomas is anything to go by.
Using fly fishing tactics, Wayne put his faith in a black fly pattern on a 9wt rod, intermediate line and 30lb wire trace. The fish was the result of the first bite of the day, and was subdued after an exciting five-minute tussle, during which it circled the boat several times and tested his tackle to the limit.
Wayne has been a regular visitor to Chew Valley since 2001, and his best pike up until this point was a 27lb 12oz fish landed in 2008. Wayne’s boat partner on the day, Steve Dawe, added a pike of 20lb 5oz as part of the pair’s shared 23-fish haul.
