It has been a bumper year for big rudd catches, with enormous fish being landed almost every week. The Fens system has been the epicentre of many of these impressive catches.
One angler who is no stranger to prolific rudd fishing is Stephen Gibbons. After catching 22 rudd over 2lb in the spring, he has now landed a sensational fish weighing 3lb 9oz, setting a new personal best for him
"After catching some beautiful rudd earlier in the year, I had been itching to get back out and try to beat my long-standing PB," Stephen told us.
"Unfortunately, after suffering some ill health and my mum having a heart attack, fishing had to be sidelined for a while."
"With everyone starting to feel a bit better, I managed a trip down to the Fens, and it turned out to be a remarkable session," he added.
"I picked up right where I left off, opting for float-fishing tactics with a bread flake hookbait."
"The water was clear, and I could see the rudd sitting out in the deeper channel, so I set the float around 3 feet."
"After introducing some pieces of bread, the rudd started taking the bait confidently downstream near a large weedbed."
"All my bites came from this area, which was about 30 yards downstream—it was just a really enjoyable session."
"Then, the swim went quiet, and I hooked into a much better fish that weeded me up. But with some gentle persuasion, I managed to free it."
"When I netted the fish, I knew it was a good one. The scales confirmed it: 3lb 9oz—a new PB and a fantastic way to return to fishing," Stephen said.
THE BEST RODS FOR SILVERS WILL HELP IMPROVE YOUR FLOAT FISHING TECHNIQUE...
