Angler Name: Thomas Mercer (King of Chantereine)

Hometown: Chorley

Fish Weight: 68lb 8oz

Bait: DNA Baits

Venue: Chantereine France

Rig: Balanced/Wafter

Tactics: Heavy baiting and patenice.

Additional Info: 68lb and 8oz, the fish of lifetime. I managed to catch this beast on a recent trip to France, at a roughly 12 acre lake baliffed by my Cousin. I used a heavy baiting approach consisting of a mixture of DNA boilies and hemp/corn particle. Used a simple balanced wafter rig and lead clip setup. Braided mainline was a must as the venue was extremely weedy and rig placement was key. This fish came after 6 days of blanking, questioning all my tactics and rig placements. However patience paid off and I was rewarded. This fish was caught late morning, just as the kettle was boiling. As the lake is weedy, you must get over to it in the boat asap, or risk losing it in the weed. The fish just held in the weed, right until I got over it. Then it blasted off along the channel into another weed bed, I'd get it out, then it would run into another. After around 15 minutes of this, I got it to the surface for the first time and made sure I netted it. It was only once I'd got back to my peg and my Cousin saw the fish that I relalised I just caught the lake record. 68lb 8oz, a weight I would never of imagined! After a 2 week trip I had caught a 41, 2x 48s, 53, 54 and the beastly 68-8!