LURE fishing ace Jason Stokes had the ‘shock of his life’ when he tempted this huge sea-dwelling smelt... from a canal!
The 28-year-old lure fishing fan, from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, caught the unusual coastal visitor from the Aire and Calder Navigation in West Yorkshire.
The property maintenance director said: “I didn’t weigh it in the heat of the moment. I’ve never heard of them been caught there ever before.
“It fell to a Fox Rage ready-tied drop shot rig, with an 8 cm Tiddler Fast lure in marble pattern.
“I didn’t get any perch at all perch at all. It was a tough day compared to how it usually performs but I was chuffed to catch this smelt, a real once in a lifetime fish,” added Jason.
The fish must have been close to the official British record of 6 oz 12 dr caught back in 1981 off Fleetwood in Lancashire.
Smelt sometimes go into tidal rivers but Angler’s Mail has never heard of one from a canal before.
Elsewhere, Darrell Carter (pictured) also had a surprise when his lure fishing trip to a secret lake produced this stunning 24 lb 3 oz common carp.
Ware, Hertfordshire-based Darrell, 45, said: “I was fishing for perch on a light drop shot rod when the carp hoovered up the Berkley Craw jig.
“About 30 minutes beforehand I managed to land a 15 lb pike from the other side of the lake on the same rig.
“When the carp first hit I thought I’d hooked a much bigger pike, perhaps 30 lb-plus by the way it tore off.
“It took me a good ten minutes before I got to see what it was that was dragging me all over the lake, so you can imagine my surprise when I first had a glimpse of her.
“After an epic 20 minutes fight in total, I managed to bring her into the net.
“My PB carp is 36 lb 6 oz but this was something special,” added the marketing director.
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