Dave Robinson ditched his usual plans for the river season this year and decided to venture along the banks of the River Cam in search of big rudd.

Arriving at 4am, Dave made his way across the meadow in the direction of the river. His chosen area was a big wide opening on a bend where a small drain met the River Cam.

“When I finally found the water as the sun broke the horizon, I was shocked just how many fish were present. There was tench rolling in the weed just off the marginal shelf, bream topping out in the middle and pike smashing into large shoals of silver fish.

“I was confident I would be in with a good chance. I started feeding corn down the centre in the faster flow. After 20 minutes or so I had fish swirling at the surface with every pouch. The atmosphere was electric.”

Dave managed to land numerous rudd from that spot with countless ‘pound’ fish topped off by four just under the magical 2lb mark, all caught during the first hour of fishing.

“All caught on my 13ft Series 7 Tench and Specimen Float rod, a Series 7 Float reel loaded with 4lb Supplex, a loaded Puddle Chucker float held in place with two Grippa Stops and a size 14 Wide Gape Hook To Nylon. My hook bait of choice was either a single or double grain of corn, fished just 12 inches under the float.”