After retiring in March, Ian Orchard set himself a few angling targets, the first of which was to catch a double-figure bream – his first in over 40 years of angling. During the last day of a tree-day session on an East Anglian gravel pit, Ian smashed his goal when he slipped the net under this fish of 16lb 10oz.
The fish came after a quiet night, with his left-hand rod signalling a drop-back bite at 5:30am. Once landed, Ian was astonished by the sheer scale of the specimen.
His successful hookbait was a Dynamite Baits Source dumbbell, topped with betalin-soaked buoyant corn. This was presented on a size 8 hook tied to a 15lb braided hooklink, which Ian fished on a heli-rig. In terms of feed, a mixture of hemp and pellets with extra cloudy Krill liquid was successful. Ian’s next target is to beat his longstanding tench PB of 11lb 8oz, and we wish him the best of luck in doing so.
Well done Ian!