It’s his PB, and was part of a red-letter session, where he landed others of 15lb, 14lb 1oz, 10lb 11oz, and an eight-pounder. Lee opted to keep his tactics simple, using long hooklinks on free running rigs with a 6oz lead to hold bottom. Rather than casting miles, he fished a spot a rod length from the bank and used a piece of luncheon meat as his hookbait. A PVA bag of pellets was all he fed, and he recast every few hours to keep a trickle of bait going through the swim. Interestingly, he’s had more success on this approach than he has when piling in bait with a spopper. When he hooked the seventeen-pounder, the fish held deep in the flow, using its weight to maximum advantage.

Well done Lee!