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DREAM START
Just catching this 15-pounder would have been a good enough result for Gateshead rod Chris Hall, but it was also his first-ever brown trout. Chris caught the fish at Knitsley Mill Trout Fishery, Consett, on a size 14 white Buzzer, fished almost static.
He said, “The fish took me on a long run down the lake and into the backing. It put up a great fight before finally being landed and almost filling my net. After getting a quick snap, I put it back to fight another day.” It was only the second time Chris had fished Knitsley Mill, but after this catch we’re sure he’ll be fishing it regularly.
FISH OF THE MONTH
Season-ticket holder Nick Dunn cradles a huge brown trout caught from Northamptonshire’s Pitsford Reservoir.
Nick was guiding when he hooked the fabulous fish, one of the largest ever from an Anglian Water fishery. The trout took a small hare’s ear shrimp fished on a floating line.
“We had been catching well on the large side of the reservoir and only came to the small side to get out of a cold northeasterly,” said Nick.
He decided to drift down a productive reed fringe 100 yards to the right of the boat dock. Halfway along, his point fly was taken and the fish began an unstoppable run.
“I honestly thought I’d hooked a big pike and actually rolled my eyes at my boat partner. The fish soon had over 80 yards of line and backing out and was still going, so we had to pull in the drogue and follow it to get line back on the reel.”
The fish eventually slowed and they could drop the anchor and begin to fight it. Nick, still believing he was into a pike, locked down the reel’s drag and “gave it the butt” of his prototype seven-weight D-Flex rod.
“It wasn’t until it hit the surface minutes later and my boat partner said ‘Oh my god, you’re not going to believe this. It’s a brown trout’ that we realised I’d hooked something very special.”
Unfortunately, Nick didn’t have his scales with him, so we’ll never know the fish’s true heft, but he and his client, both experienced all-round anglers, estimated its weight to be more than 20lb. The fish was successfully returned.
“It’s more important to me to return the fish safe and well than to be a record-holder," said Nick, "but I truly believe if we had weighed it, I would now have the Anglian Water trout record." Earlier in the day, Nick had returned a fine rainbow trout of 6lb. Last month, Pitsford produced a pike estimated to weigh 40lb.
AN EARLY BIRTHDAY PRESENT
Shortly before his 90th birthday in June, Don Oscroft (above left) caught his first River Halladale salmon, in very low water conditions from the Bridge Pool on Beat 1. The fresh nine-pounder took a size 10 fly tied by Halladale fis
