GARY TRUELOVE has been taking full advantage of his retirement by bagging up with specimens including this 2 lb 9 oz roach (above) and a 7 lb 12 oz chub (below). They came from different rivers.
The Christchurch, Dorset-based 55-year-old captured the large roach from a secret Hampshire river legering casters with a caster and hemp feeder.
And a float fishing session on his local Dorset Stour using maggots under a 2.5 SSG chubber float produced the huge chub just one ounce short of his PB.
Gary explained: “The day I caught the roach was a stinker but the river looked spot-on. I started with the float and maggot but could only catch smaller fish including lots of grayling, so I decided to move about 200 yards upriver to a slightly narrower section with some overhanging trees, and switch to the feeder with caster.
“First cast in the rod banged over and I totally missed it, second cast the same thing happened but this time I connected to it. The fish came up in the water on the strike typical of roach but, seeing the length of it, I thought it was a chub.
“Then I saw it again and couldn’t believe it was such a big roach. It put up a good scrap and was one of those fish you just couldn’t help staring at for its sheer size and immaculate condition,” he added.
Gary Truelove followed up his roach with this giant chub, winning prizes through Angler’s Mail magazine’s Korum Specimen Cup.
Gary told Angler’s Mail: “Although the weather turned awful with heavy rain and thunder the roach just kept coming with lots more over the pound mark up to 1 lb 10 oz before I was forced to pack up. It just shows how a change of swim and tactic can make all the difference.
“The session on the Stour was also highly productive. Using red maggots with a regular sprinkling of maggots and hemp on each trot down river I caught throughout the day landing four other good chub and a number of roach to 1 lb 9 oz.
“I hope to breach the magic 3 lb mark for redfins and top my PB’s for chub and barbel which currently stand at 7 lb 13 oz and 13 lb 8 oz,” he added.
Gary Truelove won £100 of Korum tackle in Angler’s Mail’s Korum Specimen Cup for this 7 lb 12 oz Avon chub, backed up by the big roach and other river specimens.
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