Another Wye tale. Courtesy of Brian Joseph.

This pair at 27 and 30pounds were caught at Holme Lacey beat four, on the Bend, by my father and his pal. Tackle was cane rods, gildex reel, braid line and Devon's.

While playing the smaller fish, the gildex jammed and locked solid !! They wrapped the line round an arm, cut it at the reel and retied it to another rod and line. Apart from a few violent tugs, the fish stayed quiet during this process , and when the line was unravelled off the arm normal contact was resumed and fight continued  !!

Charlie Pocknell was ghillie on the beat then, and in April 1963 had what must be a unique experience of landing two forty pounders in a day.

The first was caught on Holme Lacey beat four, again on the Bend, and I believe Charlie hooked and played that one.

At lunchtime, Charlie used to go back across the river in the boat to the Fownhope side, and walk home for lunch. As he went that day, he saw a rod on beat 5 Fownhope into a fish.

Returning an hour later, the fish was still being played, so Charlie went down in the boat to help. The angler was exhausted, having wound himself to a standstill courtesy of the slipping clutch on a new ambassadeur reel.( The gildex had no slipping clutch when you turned the handle it turned the spool ). Charlie took the rod, got the angler into the boat and crossed back to Holme Lacey side, and between them they continued the battle, Charlie eventually gaffing the fish.

They were like peas in a pod, both 43 pounds.