NORTHERN LINEAR IN BANK HOLIDAY BONANZA!

Billy Wells had a session to remember on the Monks Pit syndicate over the Easter weekend, capping a fantastic few days with the hugely coveted Northern Linear at 42lb 15oz.

“With the Bank Holiday weekend approaching, I decided Monks was the only place I wanted to be,” said Billy.

“Arriving at the car park and seeing a few cars parked up, I wasn’t surprised, as the lake had been throwing up some good results, not least for my good friend, Perry Alabaster, and some of the other DNA team members.

“After a good look around, there was only one area where I wanted to bivvy up, as I’d seen a couple fish roll, which got the adrenaline going. I opted for a swim called the Underpass and didn’t hang around getting the rods out, as it wasn’t long before the sun was due to set.

“At around 11.30pm, the right-hand rod tightened up and I was into my first fish of the session. After bit of a scrap, the fish slipped over the net cord and I was chuffed to bits. Looking into the net, I could see it was a good one. I asked another member to assist me getting her on the bank and we watched as she sent the scales round to 42lb 15oz! Once on the mat, we recognised the fish as the Northern Lin, one I hadn’t caught yet. Buzzing! After getting some nice photos, we treated the hook hold and carefully let her swim back into her home.

“That night’s action still wasn’t over, as I had two further takes, one from a 16lb stockie and the other from a 20lb mirror. Just as the sun was starting to rise, my middle rod went into meltdown and I was into another Monks pit lump. After another good battle, I got the fish into the net and looking down could see it was a lovely looking scaly banger. As I was getting my camera set up, the left-hand rod tightened up and I was in again! Another rod-bending battle resulted in yet another cracking-looking scaly mirror, which went 30lb 4oz, completing a brace of thirties with the 31lb 6oz on the other rod.

“Now for the crazy bit… That morning I had put a bucket in another swim and some people thought I was mad to move as I was on fish, but I went with my gut. I quickly got the rods out to a far-margin spot in my new swim and the left-hand rod was away within 10 minutes, resulting in a nice common. I didn’t want to hang about, so while the fish was resting, I quickly got the rod straight back out to the same spot and three hours later it was off again with my last fish of the session, a nice 20lb 5oz common to go with the 25lb 10oz I’d caught previously.

“To say I came away a very happy man is an understatement. All the fish were caught on Wraysberry and Pink Peril wafters in bags over a bed of Crayfish Maxi Mix and Crayfish Mini Mix pellets, all soaked in Crayfish Hydro Spod Syrup, with two scoops of S7 crumb to pull them down through the water column, which clearly worked well for me.”