PBS TUMBLE ON FIRST FRENCH TRIP IN 20 YEARS!

It had been almost two decades since Bruce Hough last stepped foot on French soil, but after a memorable week that saw PBs tumble on the banks of the Dreamlakes complex, we are sure it won’t be anywhere near as long before he next heads back across the Channel!

Fishing as part of the Serious Carp Socials group, Bruce topped a 14-fish catch with a magnificent PB-shattering common of 64lb 13oz known as Rhino, which he backed up with a new PB mirror of 52lb 5oz, two forties, a PB grass carp of 36lb 14oz, two thirties and seven twenties.

“At the peg draw, I opted for the centre of the lake, thinking I would be able to intercept fish moving from one side to the other,” said Bruce.

Despite his initial optimism, things began fairly slowly, but Bruce knew he had to be patient and build the swim so he could pick the fish off when they moved through.

Bruce said: “It became apparent the majority of the bites were inside an eight-hour window, mainly during the afternoon, so I worked my baiting strategy around this.

“I targeted a shallow, silty spot at the front of a gravel bar, topping it up regularly with crushed Bug and SLK boilies, to which I added a good amount of Calanus Hydro and SLK Hydro Spod Syrup, along house maize and Insect Meal. Over the top, I fished all three rods on solid bags of Crayfish Mini Mix pellets, with PB wafters for hookbaits.

“These tactics saw me land 14 fish over the course of the week, with the undoubted highlights being a new PB mirror of 52lb 5oz and the unit of common known as Rhino at 64lb 13oz.”