More Canal Predators

Well it has been an eventful predator season for Me and Will with around 20 pike in total along with 5 zander and countless perch but the highlight of the season was Will's pike at around 18-20lbs this was a true canal monster but despite our sudden success we couldn't help but feel that there was nothing left to achieve except a specimen canal zander which was quickly delivered to us about 2 weeks later in the form of an 7lb 11oz beauty caught by Me on a session when Will had to return home due to illness. I had walked a while up the towpath to where we had had 2 zander the previous day at around the 4lb mark. I cast my firetiger soft savage gear 4play just under a bush and hooked into a perch on the retrieve it was around 1 and a half pounds and was a sign of good things to come. But then to my horror the monstrosity that was a canal barge rolled through the swim.Morale had hit an all time low i was just about ready to go home when i had one last cast into a gap between two hedges. I flipped over the bale arm and started to wind and that was when i felt the powerful resistance of a large fish which i originally thought was a decent pike. I got the fish in to the margins and to my shock through the crystal clear water a saw the head of a large zander thrashing around. It rose to the top of the water and i originally had some trouble getting a hold on it. I grabbed it under its gill cover and lifted it out at last it was on the bank. I put it in the weigh sling and i was surprised to see them stop at 7lb 11oz. Along with this we also had a few specimen perch the biggest being about 3lb.