4lb 9oz CRUCIAN – YATELEY PIT

MY SECOND British record came in May 2003, and it was from a venue whose stock had been netted and placed in Summer Pit.

The pedigree was incredible, as this new water soon produced a record, but a point missed by most was that it wasn’t the current environment that had assisted with the growth of these fish.

I suspected the netting operation wouldn’t have been 100 per cent successful, so I sought and eventually obtained permission to fish the original pit.

The low stock remaining meant that traditional float tactics weren’t really practical, so I chose a feeder with a very short hooklength and a tiny piece of balanced maize on a hair. Bolt rigging for crucians is now commonplace, but it wasn’t then, and I do admit to a little shame in popularising the approach. It was done out of necessity and certainly wouldn’t be my first line of attack on a prolific venue… but I digress.

Through the early part of the night all I got were liners, but I was confident that the rig was well presented. I had raked the margins to leave a narrow golden strip.

Not that this remained after any of my trips, because I would employ a little of the dark art and throw everything I had pulled out back in, knowing full well that very few anglers carry a rake!

A crucian of 4lb was first to fall in the early hours, and I was over the moon, but the 4lb 9oz British record just before daybreak put me on cloud nine!