Capping off an exceptional season even by Chew Valley’s high standards, Manchester angler Lloyd Watson made history by landing a pike of 47lb 5oz that looks certain to break the existing record.
“I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet. It’s just crazy, absolutely surreal. I feel like I’m going to wake up in a minute!” the lifelong angler told us, direct from the famous venue.
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While he has targeted pike for 30 years, it was Lloyd’s first ever trip to Chew, where he’d done his homework on recent captures to choose a swim on Woodford Lodge bank, where he bait boated out a smelt on a running leger rig.
“It was right on bite o’clock around half seven,” he said.
“I’d just sent a bait out, but wasn’t happy with it somehow, so I decided to do it again, putting it out with some chopped herring.”
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Ten minutes later he had a run and hooked a fish that initially felt modest. And with his travelling companion Nick Skirrow also into a pike, Lloyd had to grab the net himself.
“At first it felt like a small pike that was weeded up,” Lloyd told Angling Times.
“It was only when it got close in that it suddenly woke up and started taking line- and I started to think ‘hang on a minute!’
"When I got it into the net, we both looked at it and couldn’t believe the size. It was absolutely ridiculous! This is the best day of my life!”
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The giant pike not only dwarfed his past PB of 24lb, but swung three sets of scales well over 47lb. With two readings of 47-5 and another of dead on 48lb, the fish looks certain to be accepted by the British Record Fish Committee.
Quickly drawing a crowd, it was extensively photographed and filmed as Lloyd carefully released it. He spoke with maximum respect for his fellow anglers who shared the moment with him, especially Ben Humber and John Deprieelle, who helped him to weigh and photograph the fish.
Also offering congratulations was big pike angler Carl Garratt, himself the captor of a 44lb fish in the heyday of Llandegfedd, where Roy Lewis’ 46lb 13oz fish set the previous record in 1992.
“It was fantastic to witness a new British record- and seeing a fish of that size again brought it all back!” said Carl, who was just about to launch a boat when news broke and he walked down to join a throng of pike anglers.
“Chew was rewritten pike fishing history- and it’s great to see the record back in England!”
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