“I’ve just returned from my first-ever trip to the tidal River Trent, where I manage to catch a new personal-best zander.
“Fishing a standard running rig with a size 6 hook and a wire trace, I cast out a roach head roughly two rodlengths out from the bank just past the rock line in 5ft of murky water after the tide began to run off.
“Within 20 minutes I had an indication. I struck and hooked into a solid fish. I thought it was a pike, but when it flashed under the surface the nerves kicked in when I saw it was a big zed.
“After a steady battle she graced the net and I knew it was going to be a new PB.
“I did a further night chasing the zander and had a couple of runs but sadly I didn’t connect with anything. It didn’t matter – I was made up with the result on my first trip to a new water.”