Perseverance paid off on the River Thurne for Reggie Blake with this super 33lb 4oz pike.

The specimen came during a night session on the Norfolk venue, after 10 previous blank trips, to a joey mackerel bait. He used a free-running lead rig, two treble hooks and an 18ins long wire trace. The fish more than doubled his previous best pike of 16lb.

“People told me that there was no big pike left on the stretch but I kept fishing it as it’s thrown up big fish in the past. My baits had been out for three or four hours when finally, well into the night, my right-hand rod screamed off. When I set the hooks I knew it was bigger than anything I’ve ever had. It took ten minutes to get in and I’m glad it was a wild fish and not from a muddy puddle!” he said.