A remarkable pair of pike have been taken by Stockton-on-Tees angler Eric Robinson, who landed fish of 36lb and 33lb less than an hour apart.
It adds to what has already been a brilliant winter for pike anglers, with huge fish being reported from all corners of the nation.
Eric, who featured in our Christmas issue with a 37lb pike, had been on a run of five blanks since making that catch on the same undisclosed water, but that all changed on his latest session when his left-hand rod signalled a take so ferocious that it nearly took his rod clean off the rests.
“A fellow angler helped me net this fish,” Eric told us.
“When I saw it on the mat, I thought it looked familiar and soon it became clear that it was the same one I’d had a month earlier.”
Eric admitted to feeling a tinge of disappointment at this recapture, but he didn’t have long to dwell on it because 45 minutes later his right-hand rod signalled yet another ripping take.
“The fight was on, and this fish took me all over the place in its quest to escape,” he told us.
“As it emerged from the depths, I saw that it was clearly a different pike to the one I had just caught.
“At 33lb, I was in shock. Two huge pike in less than an hour? All my fishing dreams had come true.”
