In-form Chris Vandervleit has recently won a match with a 141lb 11oz catch that included four massive F1s for 26lb!

These selectively bred hybrids rarely reach such large sizes in commercial fisheries, but they seem to have thrived at Cross Drove, near Thetford in Norfolk. These are mature fish and the biggest so far recorded at the venue has weighed 9lb 12oz.

Here’s how Chris caught those impressive fish:

“It was a Cross Drove open match and I drew Peg 2 in the open water. I started with a small Drennan Method feeder towards the island, using a banded 6mm hard pellet on the hook with 2mm Bai-Tech Special G pellets on the feeder and caught about 12lb in the first hour.

“I then came on the pole and fished chopped worm and caster over Special G Green and Gold groundbait 5m down my left and right margins. Hook bait was a whole dendra. I got through 2kg of groundbait, three pints of casters and half a kilo of worms.

“I used my Drennan Acolyte pole for the main bulk of the weight. A 0.3g AS4 float, 0.22mm main line, 0.20mm hooklength and a size 14 Kamasan B911 Extra Strong hook. Pole elastic was Drennan Pink Bungee.

“My catch was mainly F1s to 8lb, with about 30 fish over 3lb, plus some small brown goldfish, skimmers and I even had a small catfish of 2lb!”