BRITISH record holder Simon Ashton moved lakes at an Oxford complex and was delighted to nab this 9 lb 8 oz tench in a big haul.
The 41-year-old, from Durham, added another tench of the same weight plus eight others and a 22 lb carp.
All were taken on feeder fished worm over a bed of Sonubaits hemp and mixed micro pellet in Sonubaits F1 clear liquid.
It was back in August 2002 that Simon shot to fame with a record-beating dace, which still stands at the top of the official British record list today.
The previous winter he’d actually told Angler’s Mail that he was going to do it. But the way in which his 1 lb 5 oz 2 dr monster dace came certainly was a surprise to him, as at the start of the session they weren’t his target.
Simon Ashton is still the dace record holder.
Simon explained: ‘I’d been catching some very good dace with several over a pound up to 1 lb 3 oz previously, but on this occasion I was actually after the chub.
‘Catching that record dace was what really got me into specimen angling, and I went on to beat the Scottish bream and tench records that same year.’
CAUGHT A BIG FISH? Email photos and details exclusively to: anglersmail@timeinc.com – you could star in the brilliant weekly print magazine.