After wading through countless small rudd, Matthew Fernandez finally lifted into a much bigger fish which set a new personal best for the Southampton based angler.

“I arrived at the water eager to get fishing and after a lap of the lake, I dropped into a swim where I had seen rudd showing on the end of the wind. I found a clear spot at around 50 yards and introduced 10 Spombs of Sticky’s Krill Active Mix, maggot and hemp. I then fished two rods over the top with helicopter rigs, each with a 35g Feederbomb, short 3in Supplex hooklink and a size 16 Wide Gape Specialist hook baited with two maggots. It didn’t take long and I was soon catching plenty of small rudd, nearly one every cast. I lost count of the smaller rudd up to a pound before the big fish finally slipped up.”

This impressive rudd also landed Matthew Fernandez his first weekly Drennan Cup Award in this week’s Angling Times.