Ask any big fish angler the ultimate challenge in specimen fishing, and they’ll almost undoubtedly tell you it’s catching a big eel. Species fanatic Steve Pitts proved just why, after he landed this 7lb 7oz specimen after enduring an almighty 155 blank nights.

Steve, who has a remarkable record with the species, is targeting what he describes as a ‘wild wilderness water’, containing a low stock of very large fish. He spent the whole of last season on there without a bite, but his persistence paid off with this one, measuring 48 inches long.

He had it on an arma mesh bag filled with bits if fish on a bolt-style rig – a set-up he advocates as part of the ‘lip-hook your eels’ campaign, which he promotes through his role as the National Anguilla Club’s Environmental Officer.

The fish gave Steve an almighty battle, forcing him to jump into the lake to get on top of the eel as it charged over some shallows.

Head over to the Drennan YouTube channel to check out a video we filmed at the back end of 2021 with Steve who talks us through how and why he targets the mysterious eel.