DRENNAN CUP

Specimen fish of the week

A STILLWATER with no previous history for big eels has yielded this 5lb 12oz specimen for tattoo artist Charlie Coppolo. The 33-year-old made the impressive catch during a 24-hour session at a lake in his home county of Essex after first extensively researching its past form. Charlie says: “I was positive that nobody had targeted them intentionally on there, which is what I look for in a new eel water. Venues with no real history for the species tend to throw up one or two really big fish.” During an eventful night Charlie suffered his fair share of dropped runs, before something tore off with his deadbait offering – a section of rudd presented on a John Sidley rig. “The fish properly beasted me, and fought really strongly all the way to the net. In the net, I was staggered by its girth, but still assumed it was just a high four-pounder. Safe to say I was delighted when the needle spun all the way round to 5lb 12oz!”