He told us “Me and my friend Tom recently made an early start as we ventured to a special lake set in stunning countryside that’s home to some very large crucians.

I started in a beautiful swim with overhanging trees and rushes in the edges. It looked ideal. To my right, I fished two Method feeders with wafter hookbaits: one positioned under the overhanging trees; the other under-armed next to the rushes.

To my left, I fished a float next to a snag, where I fed hemp and a mixture of Dynamite Baits F1 Swim Stim and Green Lip Mussel groundbait. Before I knew it, six hours had passed with nothing to show for my efforts, and with night approaching, I set up all my rods of Method feeders. At around 3am I had a big drop-back on my right-hand rod and landed a roach of 2lb 6oz, which was a lovely surprise. The next morning, in light drizzle, we decided to rove around the lake, but again returned without a bite. Back in my initial swim, I started out on the float and fed a bit more groundbait with some corn. I could see a few bubbles coming up, and out of nowhere, my float gently dipped.

Being too eager, I missed the bite, and when I had another bite on my next cast, I missed that too! Eventually, I hooked a fish on my third cast, but that sadly came off after 15 seconds. I cursed at myself in the rain! I decided to put a Method feeder on the exact spot I’d been float fishing, and as the heavens really opened, I retreated to my bivvy.

After a busy day of roving, I could feel myself drifting off when the rod absolutely screamed off. I tore out of my bivvy, grabbed the rod and felt a powerful kick. A spirited fight followed before a beautiful bar of gold came to the surface. Straight away I knew that it was a PB, and once landed, that was confirmed with the fish weighing 4lb 1oz. It smashed my PB and was in beautiful condition. Persistence paid off in the end!”

Well done Daniel!