SPECIMEN ANGLER OF THE YEAR

BIG HAULS OF TENCH AND BREAM, PLUS SPECIMEN ROACH AND PERCH

TARGETING a multitude of species throughout the changing seasons takes skill and dedication in equal measure, and one man who has both in spades is Darryn Stolworthy – a unanimous choice as specimen angler of the year among Angling Times readers.

The Norfolk-based rod has been a consistent winner of weekly Drennan Cup awards over the past decade, but in 2018 he took his fishing to another level by bagging four awards between the start of April and beginning of December.

He kicked things off in June by making what’s thought to be the greatest haul of big tench in history – 62 fish to a best of 12lb 3oz – from Norfolk’s prolific Bawburgh Fisheries. His haul also included a dozen 9lb’ers to 9lb 15oz, 10 fish over 8lb to 8lb 15oz, 20 ‘sevens’ and 20 that were 6lb or under.

“I went down to the fishery for a social with a friend but the fishing was so good I extended my holiday with work and stayed for the week. The tench were surfacing all week and by topping up my swims little and often I managed to keep them there,” said Darryn, who regularly Spombed out a mixture of maggots, casters and chopped worms. Over this he fished helicopter feeder rigs with maggot, caster or worm hookbaits.

He followed this in September by banking a new personal best bream of 18lb as part of a catch that also included fish of 17lb 2oz, 16lb, 15lb 3oz and 14lb 14oz. All of the fish fell to fake caster and maggot hookbaits.

A short stalking session later in the same month led to Darryn catching a new personal best perch of 4lb 4oz, and he capped an astonishing season earlier this month with a raft of big roach to a best of 3lb 3oz (a catch featured on page 4 of this issue).