FIRST FORTY ON FIRST TRIP TO BERNERS!

Seventeen-year-old Vinny Russell had the most amazing start to the year, landing his first UK forty on his first trip to Berners Hall Fishery in Essex.

Vinny admitted to feeling somewhat out of his depth, but when you are confident in what you are doing and the bait you use, anything is possible, and within an hour and a half of setting up in a new swim, he was playing what turned out to be a PB-shattering 40lb 4oz mirror.

Vinny said: “When I arrived, the lake looked quite intimidating and the strong winds made it hard to spot any shows, but within an hour my left-hand rod busted off with a fish of 28lb 4oz. However, despite catching, I wasn’t confident I had fish in front of me, so the next morning I decided to move.

“After finding my spots in the new swim, I got my rods out at about 2pm and at 3.30pm the left-hander busted off. My heart was pounding, as it felt like a good fish and I knew what this lake was capable of producing. All the other anglers on the lake were watching me from their pegs. The fish fought hard under tip and my friend, who had the net, said it was a good fish as he waded out into the lake. The relief when it went into the net was incredible, rivalled only by the excitement I felt as I peered into the net and saw the size of the fish!

“I am not used to fishing lakes this big, so I was out of my comfort zone for definite, but I have 100% confidence in the bait, especially The Bug, which has now done me two personal bests!”

The fish succumbed to a Bug Corker wafter fished inside a solid bag of Crayfish Mini Mix and Bug pellets.