SUPERB FISHING FOR SMOOTHHOUNDS
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An incredible fight lasting more than half-an-hour resulted in the capture of a huge 75lb tope.
The big fish, which is close to the British boat-caught record of 82lb 8oz set in 1991, was taken 16 miles off Littlehampton, West Sussex, by Dan Rawlins.
“It was an incredible fight that lasted over 30 minutes, it was a real privilege to witness such a beautiful fish,” said Dan, from Littlehampton, who was fishing specifically for tope from his own 16ft Warrior boat.
Dan, whose previous best tope weighed 65lb, caught the 75-pounder within half-an-hour of commencing his fishing session. He used a running leger with a 6ft hooklength of 220lb mono and a size 10/0 hook and mackerel bait.
■ On the Llyn Peninsula of west Wales, a first cast during a small-boat session off Pwllheli, Gwynedd, produced a 50lb tope for Luke Pierce. The fish took a mackerel bait.
■ In North Wales, two trips out of Abergele produced tope of 46lb and 50lb for Terry Wallworth. The smallboat angler, from Runcorn, caught them on mackerel baits fished on 150lb mono hooklengths and size
10/0 hooks.
■ Mackerel tipped with squid on a three-hook running leger produced this 4lb 4oz black bream for Bognor Regis AAS chairman Tony Chant. He was boat fishing out from the West Sussex town.
■ Shaun Curgenven caught this greater weaver, which was not weighed, while fishing on Atlantis, out of Newquay, Cornwall.
The British boat-caught record is 2lb 2oz 7dr, caught off Cornwall in 1999.