Mark spent a cold day pike fishing on the middle reaches of the Wye accompanied by Wye and Usk Foundation Deputy Director Simon Evans and was rewarded with a hard fighting beauty in excellent condition.

Mark was using a herring deadbait fished in one of the few slacks available in the heavy flows under an old bob float he used to use as a kid in the 70s when piking in Somerset on his local river Yeo.

Mark said:
"People like Martin Salter, who has recently come to work for the Trust, are forever nagging me to spend more time coarse fishing. My job at the Trust has stopped me getting out to do much fishing of any sort over the past three years, so I was really pleased to get the chance to fish the Wye for pike. This is my largest freshwater fish to date and was very welcome after a 6am start in freezing fog. I am very grateful to Simon Evans from the Wye and Usk Foundation for his expert guiding skills and the only let down was that he didn't land the fish he hooked after it snagged him in a fallen tree. A great day's fishing on a great river with a great friend, that reminded me what it is that we are fighting to protect."

Martin Salter, new National Campaigns Coordinator for the Angling Trust added:
"Fair play to Mr Lloyd. He gets quite a bit of ribbing from me for his fluff-chucking habits but he has shown us the way. Sadly for me my personal best pike is a couple of pounds smaller so further teasing of the boss will have to be put on hold for a while!"

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News