He revealed:

“After having some time off, due to breaking my leg, I was itching to get back on the bank over the festive period. Seen as my leg wasn’t up to full strength, I decided to fish short sessions on the smaller lake at my syndicate complex. I could park my car nice and close, which made baiting missions and setting up easy.

“I decided to bait a silty area with a mixture of Manilla Active and standard Manilla freebies from mid-December, with my intention being to fish throughout the holiday season. I arrived for my first session the morning after I finished work for Christmas. It was clear the area was much cleaner than before I baited it, so confidence was high!

“I received my first bite at around mid-morning from a lovely mid-twenty common, which certainly boosted my confidence. I left at midday, but I made sure I baited up before I left. I managed one more session before Christmas, but this resulted in a lost fish, however it did mean the fish were still visiting the area.

“Come Boxing Day, I headed back down at around 11pm, for a slightly longer session, which resulted in two fish the next morning. I continued my run of luck into the next session, and I felt I was building towards a better fish. Thankfully, this came on my very next trip.

“I got down a little earlier that day and soon had a 20lb mirror in the net, when just 10 minutes later, I was away again! This time I knew it was a better one, and sure enough a big mirror popped up and slid over the net cord! It turned out to be a fish known as Finger Prints at a new lake record weight of 35lb 10oz. I was buzzing with that one, and soon got it slipped back. I ended up having a 27-pounder that session too, so it was certainly worth the few hours I put in.

“Throughout the rest of the holidays, I had at least a bite every trip, if not a fish or two. I even managed to land another thirty of 34lb 14oz, which made a great end to my festive period of angling.”