With thanks to Paul Mallinson for the words, and Alex at Chunk On for allowing us to share it
When Jim agreed to do this interview for Chunk On 004, to say I was happy would be an understatement. To have him on-board was fantastic, I knew he had consistently achieved some great results over the years and looked forward to getting behind the scenes on his angling and finding out a little more. At the same time, ideally, I wanted to cover some fresh and new ground. Jim suggested we have a chat about his exploits on a big windswept sailing pit that we will refer to as the ‘Big Pit’, imaginative I know! It’s a water that very little has been written about, due in part to it not having been extensively fished. As far as I was concerned, this sounded great. I couldn’t wait to get to work and see where the interview took us. Initially I genuinely had no idea at as to what the interview would cover, I had no prior knowledge of Jimmy’s Big Pit exploits and little knowledge of the lake in question, other than rumours I’d heard on the grapevine. However, I love a Big Pit myself, the bigger the lake, the bigger the adventure and the more there is to learn, so I knew it would be an interesting interview. Little did I know, that as the interview progressed, I would become progressively more engrossed and blown away by this particular Big Pit adventure. Prepare to be blown away.
Paul Mallinson: Jimmy, first of all thanks for agreeing to do this interview and support Chunk On, it's really appreciated. I'm really looking forward to hearing about your exploits on the Big Pit. To kick things off, can you tell us a little about the pit?
Jimmy Wilson: No Worries Paul, it’s a pleasure to get asked to support this type of publication. It’s fresh and inspiring, and more importantly, different to the norm. The Big Pit, where do I start! I’ve known of the lake for nearly twenty years now, and had access to be able to fish there for probably twelve years. For a long time though, I didn’t really have the confidence or belief to fish it.
When I first set eyes on the lake, it was just daunting, well over a hundred acres, probably one twenty-ish. It’s not just the size either, there are four distinct areas to the pit, and no matter where you are you can never see more than around a quarter of the lake. Just to walk the perimeter of the lake is a big job in itself. Add into the mix a stock level of around 40-60 fish, it’s just not an easy proposition.
I remember the first time I came down for a proper look, I was stood on the northerly bank as a big south westerly blew across the water, white capped waves blowing into my feet. It just looked massive, absolutely massive, and I remember asking myself “How the hell am I supposed to catch them from here?”
'Those first views, just blew my mind as a very inexperienced big pit angler'
The lake has been around a good while now, originally it was three or four different lakes, over the years they have been re-worked for gravel and formed what is now the Big Pit. The last of the working took place in the early 80’s. The fish were stocked around that time as well. The site owners, fortunately, making the decision to introduce carp into the complex.
The fish that were stocked are just ridiculous, they’re mega, so distinctive. When you see them, you just know where they’re from, if you get what I mean? Dink like creatures, very reminiscent of the original Savay and Frampton Harcourt fish. I don’t say that lightly mate, I rate the original Savay fish as some of the best ever and these are up there with them. They have some awesome scale patterns and, due to the clear weedy water, they tend to be quiet dark as well, which is always nice. The original fish are getting on for thirty-five years old now, if not even a little older.
PM: I know exactly what you mean by that, when you see a fish from this area, this group of pits, you just know don’t you. Much in the way that you know when you see a proper Yateley fish, or you know when you see a Linch Hill fish. It’s almost like they are their own strain really, so unique.
JW: Exactly that mate, there’s just something that draws me to this strain of fish, I grew up as a teenager in North Lincolnshire looking at pictures of the Yateley and Savay strains dreaming of being able to fish for carp like that, let alone catch them. These fish are my version of that.
It was clear that in the early days of having access to fish the lake, it had proven an intimidating prospect to Jim, as it would to most anglers. Clearly at some point he had got the confidence or inspiration to take the step up and start fishing there, I was keen to find out how long that at had taken, and what had been the eventual turning point for him, what had changed to make him cast that first rod into the Big Pit.
JW: I always seemed to have other options, other places to be and carp to fish for and I fished in the same area as the Big Pit for a good few years on a few different lakes. Don’t get me wrong; I would always go have a look at the Big Pit. It was probably around 06-07 when I finally went and started looking round with the intention of fishing it. I did around fifteen nights if I remember right and the total reward for those fifteen nights was seeing one show! It was brutal, and in hindsight, on such a big expanse of water, I’d started way too early. I’d first gotten the rods out in late February/early March, far too early! I soon went back to my other ‘normal’ waters with my tail firmly between my legs. I continued to keep an eye on the Big Pit, but a very special ticket came up, again not a million miles away, which contained one of the best big fish in the country in my mind.
PM: Yours and everyone else’s mate!
JW: Ha, yeah it’s a pretty special fish! Anyway, that took over my thoughts and efforts for a few years, and once I’d caught that fish, the Big Pit was the obvious place to turn next. A couple of very good friends also reinforced the issue, telling me quite rightly, that time waits for no man, and I really had no excuses now. So I think it was 2012 when I decided it was time to finally have a proper go.
As we all know, preparatory work plays a big part in carp fishing, whether that is pre-baiting spots, or finding out about the habits of a lakes residents. With this being such a big challenge, but at the same time, a lightly fished lake with info about it hard to come by, I wondered if Jim had done much in the way of prep work, and if so, if he had been able to uncover much to work off.
JW: When I first fronted up and decided to have a go, I did do a fair bit of research, just subtly though. I didn’t want to raise too much interest in what I was doing and where I was going, you know how it is. The research paid off though and I managed to find a few gems, old catch shots and the like, which meant I could establish certain areas of the pit that had at least some previous form for captures.
I was also fortunate enough to bump into a few of the handful of people who also had access to the pit, and pick their brains as much as I could, obviously without taking the piss. Just trying to get a feel for the place really, the rules of engagement and the unwritten rules and everything that goes with angling on such a place. Even now, it’s a privilege to have access, and back then I think I felt it even more so.
Having said all that, I always try and approach places without too many preconceived ideas, that way you react to what you see and hear, without being influenced by what is the norm on a lake. In this instance I was able to do that more than most other places, purely because the catch history that was available to research was so limited.
PM: I’ve never clapped eyes on the lake before, or even fished in that area, but I know a few who have, and over the years I’ve heard some of the rumours that get banded about regarding the lake, I suppose you must have heard them all as well?
JW: Yeah, you know what its like then! The rumours particularly seem to focus around the supposed size of some of the occupants. Well, I also managed to add a bit of meat to the bone surrounding these, which ultimately led me to making the decision that I was definitely going to have a proper go for some of the Big Pits hidden gems.
PM: These rumours then, and the putting the flesh onto the bones of them as you put it, I know the things I used to hear about the pit, but we all love a good carpy rumour! Can you let us in on some of the sorts of things that you heard on the grapevine about the pit, and what you managed to confirm as being true?
I think all anglers thrive off rumour and myth, fisherman’s tales so to speak! Well the Big Pit has plenty! The area did big fish back in the 80’s and 90’s, the same strain of fish, so there was some serious credibility to the rumours. It had always been known to be a low stock pit, and obviously had been neglected for a long time in terms of angling, and we all know that carp thrive on neglect, without pressure of anglers and captures taking their toll on them.
I knew the lake had done big fish, and I mean big fish, over 40lb, that had been caught literally less than a handful of times. I’d managed to speak to one of the captors of one of the biggies, and seen pictures, so I knew it was true. From the past catches I’d been able to trace and verify, I knew there were some awesome looking carp present in the lake, and a good average size as well, although this particular pursuit was about much more than just size for me. It was all about the challenge and doing something different to the norm, something unique and angling for carp with no names.
I also heard some really daft rumours as well, British record sized fish having been caught, that kind of thing, which was pretty easy to eliminate, the really far-fetched ones normally are to be fair. I often find the harder the rumours are to rule out, the more likely there is to be some credence or truth behind them. Rumour after all comes from loose lips, those fortunate ones in the know, saying that little bit more than they maybe should.
I spoke to the owners of the lake, who aren’t anglers, but have an awareness of what the lake contains. They own other lakes in the area, which were stocked at the same time, from the same batch of fish, so they like to keep an eye on what is happening. They were able to add a bit of validation to certain rumours as well, and also gave some credence to stock numbers from what they knew had been stocked into the lake. It finally felt like the timing was right for me to have a go.
It seemed like everything was building to a head at this point, the years of having access, gathering info about the lake, and the fish within it, right up to the point where everything was coming together for Jimmy to get the rods out, and I couldn’t wait to find out how his fishing had panned out.
PM: So, when you started fishing there, around 2012 I think you said it was, what was the plan? I’ve always sort of found that with the bigger lakes, it’s 90% location and maybe 10% bait and rigs etc. And that the fish, usually, aren’t too difficult to catch if you can get on them. Would it be fair to say that of this particular pit? I’m guessing if anything, even more so with only 40-60 fish in over a hundred acres.
JW: Location is the biggest thing on any lake we fish, there’s an old saying “the harder I work the luckier I get” and that’s so so true for the location aspect of fishing. On the Big Pit, ultimately they behave like any other carp, the difference being there’s so much more water for them to do it in. A new wind, a big wind, a cold wind, a pressure drop; it all influences where there likely to turn up. With the size of the lake, you just have to work that bit harder to find them, and more importantly once you’ve found them, stay on them.
One thing I soon learned about the Big Pit carp was, if they were on the move they could cover some serious distances in a relatively short space of time. As you alluded to, I have also found that on the bigger waters, they’re not as riggy or line shy as the smaller water carp I’ve fished for. Once you’ve actually located a few feeding fish, the bites can be quite easy to get, but as I’ve tried to stress, the actual task of locating them on the Big Pit, is huge.
PM: It sounds it to be honest, mate.
JW: One thing I forgot to mention about the Big Pit is the Ski Club! Between April and the end of October, there are these great big boats belting round two sections of the pit, dragging skiers along behind them at silly speeds! If your fishing those zones, the agreement is you reel in and allow them to get on with it. So some days you can’t even get out in the boat for long periods of time to try to find the carp, which just adds to the location nightmare. Also, I’ve mentioned the boat there, so I better expand on that a bit. On such a vast lake they are a massive help sometimes, if I can’t find them from the bank and the trees, then I’ll turn to the boat to check some of the areas that you just can’t search out properly from the bank.
PM: So, 2012 then…
JW: Yeah, so that was the year, like I’ve said I’d done few half-hearted trips over the years but this time around it felt different, time to get on and challenge myself. The plan was to stay mobile and try and get on the fish as often as possible. It sounds obvious really, but on a five acre pit, if you’re not on them you’re not that far away from them, are you. On a hundred and twenty acres though, you can be literally half a mile or so from them. So, the plan was to search them out and try and stay on them as often as possible. I knew deep down that there would be occasions when I just wouldn’t be able to find them, and it would be case of fishing off instinct, but I would always try my hardest to be on them.
Another thing I learned early on was about bait application. I found getting this right to be massively important when I first started to find them regularly. Too much bait in an area would see them on edge and make them cautious. I really did find little and often was the key that first year, which suited how I was trying to fish really, staying mobile.
'Another thing I learned early on was about bait application'
Having learned my lesson, I waited until April that year to start. Having done a bit of local fishing early on, when the first proper warm days and winds started to arrive I ventured off down the A1, Big Pit bound.
That first few trips I fished a ridiculous number of areas, the boats weren’t really out that much, so I could fish pretty much all of the pit without the worry of being wiped out. Early on I just couldn’t find them consistently, which, to be honest really didn’t surprise me.
It was late April before I started to find and see them on a regular-ish basis, and it wasn’t long after that I managed to snare my first Big Pit carp. It was a ridiculous buzz when the alarm melted off, and I instantly knew it wasn’t one of the abundance of massive Tench that live in the lake. That first bite was such a moment for me, and gave me the realisation that those Big Pit carp were catchable with willingness to put the effort in.
PM: That must’ve been a huge buzz mate, after all that build up, years of gathering info and learning about the lake, to finally catch the first one!
JW: That first one felt like a massive weight had been lifted to be honest mate, it felt like it was hard earned. I don’t think I’ve put as much pressure on myself before or since to get that first bite from a lake. As you say, knowing about the place and building myself up towards fishing it for many years, that first one almost felt inevitable, just without knowing when the inevitable was going to happen if that makes sense?
That first one came relatively quickly I felt, I’d mentally prepared myself for a long wait and big blank periods, so it was really nice to get off the mark. I’d found a few fish after doing a couple of laps of an area of the lake that was on the end of a relatively warm spring south-westerly. They looked like they were up for a feed, so I spent a bit of time watching them, where they were going, where they were dropping and if they were feeding and so on. After a couple of hours this group of three or four fish kept giving away a little area they were happy to drop on, which was only a couple of rod lengths out, just off the back of the marginal shelf where it went from 3ft or so into around 8ft. It was a spot that I could under arm a rig onto, so once the fish had drifted off a little, I got a rod into position with a big inline lead, short ish hook length and a bog standard bottom bait rig tipped with a tiny bit of yellow, as a sight bob for me really. I baited it lightly, bit of hemp, tiger and crushed boilie and settled back to watch. The light was staring to go a little by now, so I sorted the other rods out for the night, fishing both out into open water, well away from the margin spot.
I got a last couple of looks at the spot before the light went completely and I was bit paranoid I’d knackered the chance; the group of fish had clearly drifted into open water and out of sight.
I eventually I nodded off after convincing myself I had ruined the chance, and was rudely awoken just after first light to the sound of my right hand buzzer in absolute melt down. After what I can only describe as an arm wrench of a fight, I had my first Big Pit carp in the net. Although it was probably one of the smallest inhabitants in the lake it felt awesome nailing that first one. Soon enough I was picking up one of the few commons in the lake for a few quick self takes.
We all know there’s nothing quite like that first one from a lake that you have seen as a bit of a step up or a big challenge and it was clear to me that this had been no different for Jimmy. It’s almost as satisfying as seeing a particular fish you’ve been after roll into the net as it gives you that boost that you know that you are capable, that they are just fish in a lake, the same as anywhere. I wondered how this capture had affected Jimmy’s outlook on the fishing and whether, having had an early bite, more success was to follow.
JW: That capture gave me such a buzz and so much confidence, an awful lot of things just seemed to click into place after that. Fish location in certain weather conditions, different approaches I would use when fishing in the edge or fishing out in the lake, even finding them in the first place; it all just seemed so much easier. By early June I had a couple of good spots rocking around the pit, one of which was off the end of some old rickety wooden staging. In the right conditions, the fish would turn up a rod length or so off this staging in 7-8ft of water. The area was slightly off a south-westerly wind, and was almost a slack area when the boats and skiers were out in force. It became one of the first go-to areas when I arrived, so long as the weather was right.
During a session in early June I was up a spotting tree watching the area off the wooden staging, when one of the biggest carp I’d seen drifted into the area. I was stuck to the tree watching in awe this creature with big shoulders and massive scales along its back came cruising into the area. I’d dropped a bit of hemp, tiger and boilie on the spot on one of my laps of the lake the previous day and this monster dropped straight onto the spot, I could see the silt kicking up and its gills flaring! It only lasted for a few seconds before it righted itself and drifted off out into the vast open water.
PM: Wow, that must have been really something, to see such and awesome fish close up, not only that, but to see it drop down and have a feed!
JW: Yeah it was mega mate. As a carp angler, that sort of thing is like all your dreams coming true. A monster of a mirror, relatively unknown, turning up on a massive pit and have a chew on some of your bait!
This spot wasn’t a million miles away from where I’d had that first bite, maybe a hundred yards. I decided to bait it quite heavily, putting a full bucket of feed out, hemp, boilie and tiger nuts. In addition, I also baited the open water with boilie from the throwing stick.
I knew I could get back to the lake a few days later for a two or three night trip, I’d booked some leave in at work so I could put a few sessions in back to back during the prime spring time.
PM: It must have been torture tearing yourself away! Still I suppose you had the knowledge that you’d seen it feed, and your bait was on the spot, hopefully ‘working’ for you in your absence. And, you’d had the good foresight to book some leave for the spring period, always a wise move!
JW: It’s not ideal seeing a big one like that, just as your having to head for home, but as you say, at least I had bait on the spot and I knew I would be back in short order. When I did get back, a few days later, I headed to the lake straight from work, doing my first lap of the pit in my shirt and tie as usual. When I came to the marginal area I’d baited, only three or four days earlier, the spot had been harvested. It was bigger, the weed much lower and sparser and the bait had most definitely gone.
I decided to trickle a bit of bait on the spot and carry on looking, ending up a good way away from that area for the first night of the trip. I fished on the end of the ski straight, as I refer to it, and I managed a low twenty mirror in the morning. That fish came fishing from the bank, casting, baiting with the throwing stick, fishing to my strengths really. I’d been rewarded with my second Big Pit carp of the year, I was absolutely buzzing. Around 11am the boats came out in force, so I cranked the rods in and went walking. I did a proper lap, taking my time and including all my climbing trees; it took me a good 3 hours to complete.
I deliberately went the long way round to the spot I’d baited the previous day. I didn’t want to miss anything elsewhere on the pit, and by the time I got around to the area I was knackered and hadn’t seen a great deal elsewhere. I shot up the now familiar tree and I instantly clocked a carp in the area. There was a shoal of Tench hovering over the spot, and within about 15 minutes I’d counted ten carp in the area, including the one I’d seen a few short days before. I can still see those scales flexing clear as day now!
It was with another big mirror as well, one I’d not seen before! The second fish was a very similar shape as the first, but slightly bigger, and its scales weren’t as prominent as the other one making them easily distinguishable from each other. They were both absolute monsters and lazily cruising around not thirty yards away from me. That was obviously enough for me to go and get the kit for a move, in spite of the fact that I’d had a result that morning. Soon enough I was back with the gear, trying to figure out a plan of action in my head.
PM: We’ve all been there, that nervous excitement that comes with knowing your in with a really good chance at a really special fish, and desperate not to fluff it. It’s part of the highs and low’s of carp fishing for sure!
JW: Oh without doubt, it’s all part of it and those moments are part of the reason we do it. I decided to fish one rod one the marginal zone and two out into open water, as I had been doing around the pit.
I waited until nearly dusk when the fish had started to drift off before getting the rods out. I was paranoid about spooking them with leads so made the decision to wait and bait once they had drifted off a little, relying on them returning the following morning.
The rods went out well, which is always such a boost for me on these harder pits. All too soon it was dark and I decided to get my head down. Around half four I was woken by the marginal spot rod in absolute melt down. After another arm wrenching battle, I had an amazing Big Pit thirty nestling in the folds of the net. It was an awesome carp, and typical of the Big Pit strain; I was buzzing and appreciating a new lease of confidence in my angling.
I popped the mirror in the sack for a couple of hours so I could sort out a few self takes when the light levels improved. The rod was popped back out onto the marginal spot and I decided it was time for a brew. You know how good those celebratory cuppas’ taste, so it just had to be done! While enjoying the brew, I was sure I saw a fizz up over one of the open water spots and soon after a show just behind it. I’d soon drunk the first cuppa so popped the kettle back on and with that, one of the open water rods was away! I soon had another Big Pit carp, waiting patiently in the folds of the landing net. As you can imagine I was on cloud nine. Three fish in a trip was beyond my wildest dreams. Once the light was right I sorted out the photo’s baited the zones and packed the kit away to head for home.
'Just insane carp, such a buzz'
PM: Those journeys home after a result pass by in a blur don’t they, it’s the best feeling!
JW: It’s ace isn’t it, made all the more special if they are hard won and rarely experienced. I had another trip looming quite quickly because of the time off I’d booked in at work, so four or so days later I was back at the lake again. This time conditions looked all wrong for the zone I’d been baiting so I went looking for them, and they were really really hard to track down. In the end, I set up on a feeling rather than anything else. That night passed by without incident, and the following morning I was packed and looking for a move early. By mid-afternoon I was still struggling to find a few, but eventually I saw a couple show in open water in the wake of a couple of boats that were zipping around for the afternoon. That was all I had to go on, so I moved onto those two shows, the other thing was I could get to the area of the shows while set up in the same peg as the previous trip, meaning I could get a rod off the end of the jetty as well.
Soon enough I was set up and had the rods ready to go, once the boats had been moored up for the evening. By about 7pm everything was sorted and the rods were out, when the weather started to change. When I say change, I mean a real change, the pressure drop in the air was tangible and everything felt fresh and alive, it was once of those occasions when it just felt right, really right.
I set the alarm on my phone for before first light, it really felt like something was going to happen. When the alarm on the phone woke me I’ve got to admit I was a bit disappointed that there hadn’t been any action during the night, it felt so right, with conditions getting better and better. I shouldn’t have worried though; around 9am one of the open water rods pulled up and all too soon I had a mega mirror in the net, another solid looking carp, as old as the hills and hardly any previous captures to it’s name.
I soon had the rod back out and topped the area up with the throwing stick, I wanted bait out there because of the conditions, but didn’t want to put the fish on edge by putting too much in in one go. It seemed to do the trick, only an hour or so later I was away again on the recast rod, and another mega Big Pit mirror graced my landing net.
I really was on cloud nine with two in such quick succession, it really was turning into a spring to remember! I still felt though, that there was something else on the cards; the weather was still getting better and better by the second. Soon enough I had a fresh rig and hook bait back out in the zone and another kilo or so of bait put out over the area with the stick. By late morning I’d seen a few signs of fish in the area, and as you can imagine, my confidence was sky high. I almost felt like I knew I was going to get another chance. Sure enough around half ten, the chance came. From the start this one was different, the open water area was around 110yrds out, and the previous bites had pulled up and held as is quite common when fishing at range. This one was absolutely flying from the off, taking line off a tight clutch. On picking the rod up, it just felt different, so much so I was nervous as hell, standing out in the lake in my chesties praying for that first glimpse. When I got it, I thought I was going to faint. My leader knot rose from the depths and broke the surface for the first time, and below it this massive great big mirror came into view, only a couple of rod lengths away from me.
Eventually, after what felt like a lifetime, the big mirror slid over the net cord and I peered in, trying to figure out exactly what I’d caught. It was big. Really BIG. And it was clearly one of the two I’d seen only a few days before. Lifting the mesh I was able to see the give away pronounced scales on it shoulders, meaning it was actually the smaller of the two! I was blown away to be honest, just absolutely in awe of the creature and gobsmacked. The scales, once I’d calmed down enough to carry out the weighing process, span round to nearly forty-seven pounds of massive Big Pit mirror.
PM: Wow, that must have been an incredible moment mate, what a fish! A true monster. In reality, naturally grown carp, that haven’t had tonnes of bait thrown at them, well they don’t come much bigger than that in the UK do they. It’s some carp to have in your photo album. Was it a known fish for the lake, and do you know much of the history behind it if so?
JW: From what I’d been able to find out, I knew pretty much straight away that it was a known fish for the lake. It’s capture history though, was limited to say the least. Especially captures I could verify. I knew it had been caught previously over 40lb, and the last capture I could truly pin down was around eight years or so previous. You could tell it hadn’t been caught for a while, it looked immaculate on the bank, absolutely immaculate. Its mouth was insane, so clean, unmarked by previous encounters with angler’s hooks, it was just a surreal carp.
I knew from looking at the fish, its shape, head size, scale pattern, it was one of the original stock, which I knew from the owners of the lake, had been stocked in or around 1980, making it over 30 years old. This added to the capture for me, it is one I will treasure forever. It’s one of only three or four catch pictures I have on display at home, the rest are tucked away in an old shoe box or on an external hard drive somewhere.
As much as I have a fairly good recollection of that moment, the clearest memory I have is after the photos. Sitting on the bedchair, celebratory cuppa in hand, looking out over the sixty or so acres of the main body of the lake, with a ridiculous smile on my face feeling like I’d just conquered my fishing equivalent of Mount Everest. I decided to end that session a day early having caught that incredible carp. I packed up an extremely happy angler.
PM: I know that feeling; it’s such a buzz isn’t it! You must have been on a huge high.
It was a huge buzz mate, absolutely massive buzz. One that I hope never goes away when one I really want falls over the net cord. In all honesty, it took a good few weeks for the buzz of that capture to go away. I felt like I was floating around the lake, every cast seem to land right and every hook felt right out the packet, you know what it’s like after the capture of a special one, your confidence goes through the roof. So I carried on, as you would, and kept putting the effort in to try and keep a track of those willy old Big Pit carp. And I did manage a few more, but it wasn’t long after that when the algae appeared, which it does every year. The visibility became almost non-existent, the weed became an underwater jungle and with the weed the boats became an almighty pain because you couldn’t get your line down and out of the way through the thick weed growth.
Come late June early July, I headed off elsewhere for a while. You know what its like, with working full time, family, friends, running a lake etc etc, time is precious for angling. After that spring and early summer, the Big Pit drifted out of my mind for a little while. The Deep Pit and then the Snaggy Pit became the destinations for my adventures for a little while. The Snaggy Pit took over my plans more than I expected really, you know what its like though, you get the bit for somewhere between your teeth and everywhere else gets forgotten about, for a while at least. Although I have drifted back to the Big Pit every year for a few trips, and I have been extremely fortunate in the fact that I have caught some ridiculously special fish in those few short campaigns, nothing quite like that big girl has graced my net since that lovely June day. I’m pretty damn sure, however, that the other big old girl I saw with her is still living the life of riley in the Big Pit, and I’m sure I’ll be back for a full on go for her again at some point. You never know, maybe we will be having a catch up to this piece in a couple of years time, when I’ve got some more really special pictures to show.
PM: Oh I really hope so mate, wouldn’t that be a bit special! Well I’ve really enjoyed this interview, and I am sure that the readers are going to love it too, so thank you once again for sharing this special and inspiring adventure with us.
JW: No worries Paul, be lucky…
