Neal Baskerville lands Shoulders from Alders Farm at 41lb 2oz

Neal reveals all on his capture.

I decided last week I would pop down to Alders Farm on Friday night for a quick overnighter and see what fortune lay in wait for me. I arrived at the lake to find I was the only one there albeit the weather was ever changing with rain forecast so it was no surprise. After a wander around checking out for any signs of fish, I decided Peg 1 was to be the one, which had an out of bounds area to the left. After a a cast around I found a small gravel area to my left down the margin and tumbled in a few pre-soaked Smokey jack Pillows, coated with a dash of the GO2 Liquid Red from the match range which is a strong red dye laced with Spotted Fin’s now famous attractor package. Something I had been meaning to try out as I wanted a misty cloud of red attractant in the water over the area and after speaking with a number of the match community, thought this suited the Smokey Jack boilies perfectly.

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Due to crayfish being present (where aren’t they nowadays!) I opted for a Ronnie rig with a 15mm Smokey Jack Pop-Up which I had been spraying with the matching Smokey Jack Booster Spray.

After settling down and getting my gear sorted the rods couldn’t have been in for more than 2hrs when the left rod took off. I struck into the fish and knew this wasn’t going to be a small one. After a spirited 10min battle, the jewel of the lake “Shoulders” was finally nestled in the bottom of my net. I couldn’t believe it. Only my second overnighter of the year and this beauty was sitting there waiting to be weighed! Even after being spawned out she spun the scales at 41lb 2oz and I had a new PB.

I will certainly be back again for another crack to see if she has put on any weight but not without the Smokey Jack.