“The other day I went fishing at a pond in Walrow, Somerset, hoping to tag a tench or two. The carp boys land them occasionally, with fish to 9lb having been caught, but targeting them on the venue is tricky as it’s so deep, even in the margins, and there are no lily pads or other classic features to fish towards.
“I’d had some success on a different tench water this year using 16mm dumbell boilies on scaled-down carp rigs, so I tried the tactic again. After a few liners in the morning, my alarm rattled off and line tore from the reel. As I played the fish, I thought I’d struck lucky, as my 1.25lb test curve rod was bent almost double.
“I thought it was a tench or a small double-figure carp, but 10 minutes later, when I saw it was an eel, I was disappointed to begin with. However, when I got it in the net, I realised was huge!
“It weighed 6lb 11oz and was as strong as a bull. It gave me a proper tussle as I tried to hold it for a photo!”
