Rare fifty caught by Neil Edge

This impressive 51lb 4oz mirror from CEMEX Angling’s Rockford Lake in Hampshire has been caught for only the fifth time in 12 years by Neil Edge.

The Sonubaits consultant decided to set up in a swim that had been neglected by other anglers for the last couple of weeks and which allowed him to fish towards a central band of weed where the lake’s carp had been held up in for the majority of the year.

All of his rods were cast towards the corner of a large weed bed at 70yds range which he baited with a mixture Sonubaits prototype boilies, particles and Tiger Fish pellets. Over the top of this he offered a Refresha pop-up on a short chod rig.

“The fishing was relatively slow to begin with, apart from the relentless bream and tench that couldn’t resist my bait,” Neil said. “Because of the great weather conditions I knew the carp would be well up for a feed, so on the last night of my session I put out another 6kg of spod mix.”
This certainly did the trick, because at 5am in the morning his alarm burst into life as the line was ripped off his spool.

“It headed straight towards the weed bed and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Everything went solid and I thought the fish had shed the hook. I applied steady pressure and after 10 minutes a large ball of weed the size of a pool table starting moving towards me. As the weed bed got within a few yards of the bank, I caught a glimpse of a carp’s tail. I desperately clambered into the water and slid the net under the whole lot. When I peeled back the mesh, and removed the weed I was greeted by a large, dark mirror. I was shocked, and absolutely over the moon, when the fish tipped my scales to 51lb 4oz.”