“I had fished the Trout Lake a number of times already, and really wanted to have a go on Willows. I finally managed to book a session in and arrived relatively late on that first day. During a walk around, I saw a fair few fish, most of which were either hugging the island margin or swimming close in on the marginal shelf.

“I set about getting camp sorted and in order to fish as quietly but effectively as possible, I went in with solid bags. Inside, I placed crumbed Krill boilies followed by bright pink, Buchu-Berry wafters⁠ before carefully plopping them out, right in the patrol routes of the passing carp. I went to bed confident but knew full well that I could like so many anglers before me on the difficult lake, come away with a blank.

“I needn’t have worried; the following morning saw me receive the bite I so wanted. It was a typical big fish bite, super slow and steady as they always seem to be. It became apparent straight away it was indeed a massive fish, as it plodded purposefully in the channel in front of the swim. The fight went on for what seemed like an eternity, back and forth on a tight line, until finally, I shuffled a large mirror into the net! Having fished the complex before, I had seen plenty of big fish, but this was a different animal all together and was clearly one of the biggest in the lake!”

“I made the call to Sam the lake owner, and soon had Tom, Sticky’s media manager plus a few helpers in the swim. The fish was confirmed as Alfie’s Fish, one of the really sought after, rare visitors to the bank. It had clearly been on the munch too, as it tipped the scales to 57lb 8oz. I was absolutely buzzing and will certainly never forget that day!”