TONY Sharp landed a lifetime best 5lb 4oz wild trout while fishing on Keighley Angling Club’s waters on the river Aire between Kildwick and Silsden.

Trotting a fast stretch of water using a simple rig baited with bread on a size eight hook, he felt a sudden, violent pull on his line. The fish took off on a rod-bending run down river, stripping 50 yards of line off the reel.

Sharp, who is more used to landing large pike, carefully played the trout back upstream using all his experience to avoid snagging the fish or snapping his 4lb line in the fast water.

He said: “When the line tightened I knew I was into a really good fish which put up an incredible fight; it took me quite a while to bring it to the bank.

“When I landed it I could see it was an exceptional trout in magnificent condition – it was almost too big to fit in my landing net.”

After confirming its weight, Sharp returned the fish to the river and was quickly into another brown trout weighing 2lb. After a change of tactics the Keighley angler added barbel, grayling and several more trout to his tally.