BERNERS BIRTHDAY BASH
28th May 2021
Jack Stone caps off his birthday session on Berners Hall with a new PB.
It seems like a common occurrence in many anglers’ lives, we live and breathe it so much that when it comes to our birthdays, there no place we would rather be than on the bank! Often catching is the cherry on the cake during these sessions, but the thought never really leaves your mind that catching a special fish on your birthday would be a dream come true. Jack Stone recently had his dream become a reality, as he landed a new PB while celebrating on his birthday.
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Jack told us:
“My birthday session got off to an amazing start, I had ten fish under my belt taken over a mix of Krill boilies, hemp, maize and corn, soaked in Cloudy Krill and Pure Calanus liquids. However, none of the big Berners residents had paid me a visit. So, when I hooked into what would be my 11th fish, it felt very different from all the others straight away. It felt powerful and was going on surges right from the get-go, it just stayed out long which none of the previous fish in the session had done.
“I thought to myself hmmm, this could be the birthday chunk I’ve been waiting for! After a good 15 minutes it finally started getting closer to the surface in the margins and I could see it was a decent sized mirror. My brother James, chief nets man, was ready waiting to do the honours. After one final burst of energy, the big mirror finally gave in and I steered it over the net cord for my brother to raise the victory flag!
“I peered into the net and could clearly see it was a decent fish, one of many big mirrors that reside in The Res at Berners Hall, but I wasn’t sure which one it was. While holding the net for me as I was getting my waders on, James shouted: ‘I’m giving you 36lb’. I thought to myself oh yeah, that’ll do for a great birthday present! We all know if they look big in the net in the water then they normally look even bigger when they are on the mat!
“With my waders on, I lifted the fish out in the sling, and it was definitely weighty! I unzipped it and peel back the net to reveal a very well-proportioned, rather chunky mirror. Me and James lifted it on the scales, with them facing him and another guy called Andy. They both chuckled and James said: ‘Yep, it’s a 40!’
“I was in shock! Before the trip, I said to myself how awesome it would be to catch my PB on my birthday. Normally these things never come to light, but it did this time! After James took some amazing photos and I said my goodbyes, I checked the photos to see which mirror it was and confirmed it was called Average Joe at a not so average, 42lb 6oz!
“The following day saw the conditions change and the fish moved off me. Wanting to capitalise on my session, I moved swims in the pouring rain. Thankfully, I found a new spot, baited it and got my rods out with little drama. The move paid off too, as I landed the second biggest of my session, in the form of Sherlock at 38lb 9oz. It really did cap off the session in fine style!”
