HAVING left his bait in a mate’s van, Shaun Smith decided to cast out with all he had – Peperami – and proceeded to hook this 48lb 2oz cat on his first cast.
The 26-year-old builder, from Brightlingsea in Essex, cast three ‘Rami hookbaits to an island in the middle of the Basildon venue he was targeting while he waited for his friend to return with the forgotten bait.
But his lack of boilies didn’t prevent him from hooking the big predator which beat his previous best for the species by over 20lb.
“I hooked the fish within 20 minutes of casting out and then spent 40 minutes playing it – it took me all over the lake and I thought I’d never get it to the bank,” said Shaun.