BIG RUDD hauls don’t come much better than Stephen Prentice’s latest catch.
The 24-year-old builder had a red letter day on a stretch of Fen river which resulted in six 2 lb-plus rudd topped by a monster 3 lb 11 oz personal best. The catch made him a winner of £100 of Korum tackle in the Angler’s Mail Korum Specimen Cup.
Stephen told Angler’s Mail: “Rudd aren’t usually a fish I spend a lot of time targeting, and I’d actually been down to the river the week before to have a go for some carp.
“That particular session didn’t go very well but I noticed some good rudd moving in the area so decided to return with a rudd rod and have a go for them.
“I caught a couple of two-pounders so I decided to have a proper go for something bigger on my next trip. I certainly didn’t expect the session I ended up having!
“Over the course of three to four hours I beat my personal best four times and ended up smashing it with the 3 lb 11 oz fish,” he added.
Bread crust and walking finds rudd
Simple floating crust tactics did the trick for the Linton, Cambridgeshire-based angler who added: “I started off tearing up chunks of bread and feeding them at various spots before walking around a mile and a half of the river.
“I spotted the odd fish feeding so had a go for them and managed to keep them in the area long enough to have the big hit, which also included smaller fish around the 1 lb mark.”
Stephen’s successful end tackle included a size 10 hook tied to 4 lb hook link and 6 lb main line, with a floating crust bait presented using a 2.4 g Drennan Loafer float.
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