It’s been a while since Mike Lyddon had landed a fish which left him ‘a gibbering wreck’ but that was the exact emotion he felt when he landed this 3lb 1oz grayling.

Mike told us” I was trotting single grains of corn down a southern chalkstream on a size 14 hook with a 3lb hooklength when I hooked the fish right under my feet and saw it straight away. I saw it come straight up and roll and then spent the next 5 minutes playing it with my heart in my mouth, as it repeatedly powered off downstream and I then had to play it back upstream. I managed to back this fish up with several other grayling including specimens of 2lb 4oz, 2lb 1oz, another 2lb 1oz and a host of smaller ones.”