A PERCH angler has landed one of the most impressive salmon ever sent to Angler’s Mail after he tussled with this beak-mouthed male.
Mike Wallis landed the stunning salmon while targetting perch on the lower River Severn with a small soft rubber Tsunami Swim Shad lure.
The 55-year-old retired toolmaker said: “Wow! What a surprise. The lively male was returned alive for his happy ending with his Welsh girlfriends.
“It was an awesome specimen – a fish of a lifetime. It was a complete surprise and I’d never even seen one before!
“I didn’t want to waste time weighing him as I wanted to get him back in and on his way upriver ASAP. It was good to see him swim away strongly.
“It had fought really hard and I thought I might have hooked a massive pike until I saw this strange creature come to the surface.
“My friend reckons it weighed about 18 lb which probably isn’t far off the mark. I doubt I’ll ever catch anything this special ever again.
“I totally advocate catch-and-release and do it for sea fishing too,” added Cirencester, Gloucestershire-based Mike.
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