Scott Cordingley has finally achieved his dream of banking a 2lb+ roach from his local river.

“I managed to get an hour on my local stretch of the Upper Stour in Kent in the hope of a few chub,” he explains. “I was tooled up with a 12ft feeder rod with a 2oz tip, 5lb main line on a centrepin reel straight through to a size 10 Drennan Super Specialist hook with bread flake for the hook bait.

“The river is extremely shallow at present but the swim I chose had a deep hole with rushes surrounding it, so I was hoping a few chub were in there. After a jagged fight the fish surfaced and I pretty much went to jelly. It’s some sight seeing a large river roach flank. In the net I was sure it was going over 2lb and the scales confirmed this at 2lb 2oz.

“I’m genuinely surprised by this capture. A roach of this size I’ve never seen on the Upper Stour. I am over the moon with a new PB and after all that time trying it came down to a single hour-long session. Marvellous!”