One night, one bite, one huge common!
Willy Baccolini only needed one night at a small and heavily-fished lake to land this stunning 44lb common carp.
After baiting a small area heavily with DD Baits Freshwater Snail readymade boilies, the Italian Prologic consultant placed a 24mm bottom bait of the same flavour in the middle if the patch of freebies before sitting down to have a meal.
However, he had hardly taken a mouthful when one of his alarms sounded, marking the start of a ferocious battle lasting more than 15 minutes before the mighty fish was landed.
Huge carp captured on video!
Amazing footage of the capture and subsequent release of an 88lb common carp has been filmed by the guys at equipment manufacturer Trakker.
Caught by one of the firm’s angling consultants, Clive Gibbins, the video of the specimen from Etang la Saussaie in France gives a rare opportunity to see just how colossal a fish of this size really is.
Although a little rough around the edges in places, the footage is well worth a look.
To do so, log on to www.trakkerproducts.co.uk
Ten minutes to catch a whacker!
Justin Grapes proved that you don’t need to camp out for nights on end to catch big carp after he slipped his net under this gorgeous 26lb 4oz mirror carp just ten minutes into his session.
The 37-year-old marine engineer from Frettenham in Norwich, had only just started his first session of the season on the 29-acre Lodge Farm Lake on the Bawburgh complex when his alarms signalled a blistering take.
The fwas taken on a Nashbaits iC-1 pop-up boilie on a chod rig made from a Nash Fang Gaper hook and Korda Mouthtrap hooklink.
River Thames record carp caught
This potential River Thames record carp weighing 39lb 5oz has been caught from a stretch of the waterway at Teddington.
The huge common was landed on the final morning of a 48-hour session, and it fell to a trimmed-down Tasty Baits Lip ‘N’ Liver boilie on an Atomic Tackle Claw hook and a supple braid hooklink over 2kg of matching freebies.
The previous biggest authenticated carp from the river was a 38lb 11oz mirror caught in 2007.
See the exclusive pics of the fish, plus all the other breaking big carp catches, in next week’s Angling Times on sale Tuesday July 19.
A 'twenty' on his first ever river session!
Chris Hammond decided to target river carp for the first time this year and was rewarded when he slipped the net under this mint-conditioned 24lb mirror just five minutes after casting out.
The specialist, from Suffolk, has been in fine form this season with some big rudd and perch already under his belt, and his prolific spell continued when he paid a visit to the River Cam in Cambridgeshire.
Chris baited his swim the night before with wheat and particles and then set his trap which incorporated a simple bolt rig constructed from a 25lb coated hooklink, a size 6 hook and a hair-rigged 15 mm Nash boilie.
Read more about this capture, plus all the other breaking big carp catches, in next week’s Angling Times, on sale Tuesday 19 July.
46lb 4oz mirror ends run of 27 blank nights
A run of 27 nights without a bite came to a welcome end for Gaz Jones when he landed this personal best 46lb 4oz mirror carp known as The Black Pig from St Ives Lagoon in Cambridgeshire.
The fish was caught from an area of fresh weed at 102yds where he’d seen a couple of carp showing and he baited the spot with 3kg of 15mm Dynamite Baits The Source boilies.
It is the first carp which he has caught from the low-stock venue this year and is his sixth UK forty.
Angler takes record catch at Pendle View
Lancashire restaurant worker Konstantine Konstantinov took time out from his busy schedule for a week long assault of his local Pendle View Fisheries and managed to record the biggest catch of carp ever landed from the complex.
With very few people on the water, he decided to set up on peg 34 on the dam wall and it proved to be a wise decision, with 400lb of carp and six different ‘twenties’ making an appearance during the campaign.
Several baits were used throughout the session, with Mainline Cell bottom baits and dog biscuits proving the most prolific.
New 50lb carp water set to open
Angling Times has learned that a new day-ticket carp lake stocked with fish from a famous SSSI southern Stillwater is due to open in the next few months.
The lake, located in the west midlands, will contain fish of up to 50lb, with the owner vowing the fishing will be open to all.
For the full story see next week’s Angling Times, on sale July 12.
Gaz Fareham to co-host open day which is free to all
Any budding carpers in the Gloucestershire area looking for an entertaining and free day out should head along to the Carp Society’s Horseshoe Lake in Lechlade on Saturday 23 July where top bait company CC Moore will be holding an action-packed open day.
Expert bait and rig advice clinics will be hosted by top anglers and CC Moore consultants, including big carp maestros Gaz Fareham and Jake Wildebore, and the company will be offering special discounted rates on many of its cutting edge bait products.
A number of brilliant prizes will be up for grabs, including a French carp fishing holiday, a full spodding set-up, a 24-hour tuition session with Jake Wildebore, bait vouchers and Korda product packs.
For more info, log on to www.ccmoore.com or call 01963 362234.
First online pics of huge river carp!
There can be few better-looking carp than this mighty 39lb 6oz common, which was taken by barbel angler Andy Whittock from a stretch of the river in Hereford Town Centre.
The stunning specimen was hooked on the 49-year-old’s second cast of a short morning session after falling for a hair-rigged Sonubaits 12mm Elliptical pellet hookbait over a bed of Hemp and Hali Crush groundbait and pellets.
It took Andy over 20 minutes to bank the fish after it charged off on an initial 80yd run, but he eventually beat with a 4ft Drennan Sink Link hooklink and a size 10 hook.
“I’ve spoke to a few of the carpers on the river and several of them have seen a large common in the area but have never been able to get it to feed on their bait,” he told Angling Times.
“It obviously took a liking to my scaled-down barbel tactics though.”
Big common ends five-year wait
A five-year quest to beat his personal best ended in success for Steve Brown last weekend when he slipped the net under this 34lb 2oz giant from a tricky Nene valley water.
The fish, which beat his old best for common carp by a mere 2oz, was taken from a 5ft deep clean area among weed in a reed-lined bay, and fell to a DT Baits N-Blend dumbbell boilie tipped with a matching 10mm boile.
Steve presented his hookbait over eighty 10mm boilies and his winning rig comprised a 6in Atomic Tackle Jelly Wire hooklink and a size 8 Korda longshank hook.
Bluebell comes up trumps for Chris
There’s no better feeling than catching a huge common carp from a day ticket water….just ask Chris Ash, who did exactly that on a visit to the prolific Bluebell Lakes complex at Tansor, just to the west of Peterborough.
The Stevenage rod took the impressive specimen from the venue’s Kingfisher Lake after it picked up his Mainline hookbait at 4.30pm in the afternoon.
On the scales it pulled the needle round to exactly 40lb.
Monery on the money with 45lb carp
This 45lb 4oz mirror was caught by Myland Monery during a 24 hour session on Walthamstow Reservoir No.2.
The impressive specimen was caught by the 33-year-old complex ranger from a spot at 40yds range which he’d been baiting over the last few weeks with Fishing Wizard Kudos boilies.
He then offered a snowman presentation and received a small drop back bite just after midnight.
The fish smashed his old pb of 34lb 12oz and was beaten with a 6ins Korda N-Trap hooklink and a size 8 Nash Fang X hook on a helicopter set-up with a 2oz lead.
Fishing is normally restricted to days only at Walthamstow, but 24 hour sessions are available on July 2 and July 16 for £25.
For more info and a list of dates over the rest of the year call: 07747 641179
Premiership star banks new best carp!
Premiership star Tony Hibbert is the latest footballer to hit the big carp scene after he banked a 32lb 6oz mirror.
The Everton defender has never scored a goal for the Merseysiders but showed he can hit the back of the net when it comes to fishing with a personal best catch from Lake Chria, in the Canaries.
Tony used a snowman rig consisting of 15mm Dynamite Fresh Fish boilie and a bright yellow pop-up, presented over a bed of pellets.
Monster river carp
Rumours are circulating of a hat-trick of giant river carp as the new season kicks off in style.
Fish in excess of 40lb are believed to have been landed from the River Wye and Norfolk’s Relief Channel.
And a 36-pounder is understood to have come to the rod of former Angling Times tackle tester Jonathon Taylor, whilst testing new Dynamite Baits boilies.
Angling Times editor Richard Lee said: “There have been a lot of anglers on the banks since June 16 and it is a clear sign that the UKs fishermen still appreciate the value of ‘wild’ stock.
“Big carp have been in our rivers for some time but it is only fairly recently that any amount of carpers have actually invested time into prebaiting. Those who are putting in the effort are certainly getting their rewards. These latest captures are truly spectacular.”
Terry Hearn banks stunning 37lb mirror carp
Carp fishing legend Terry Hearn has banked a stunning 37lb mirror carp from a large Oxfordshire gravel pit during ‘a social’ with a few mates.
He took the impressive fish from a swim situated on the end of a warm south westerly wind, and the successful bait was a 15mm Dynamite Baits The Source pop-up, presented on a chod rig over a scattering of bottom baits of the same size and flavour.
It was taken on the first morning of a two-day session, and is thought to be only the third time that this particular carp has ever been caught.
Spread of carp could be a 'disaster'
Fears are growing that flooding in New Orleans has caused the spread of unwanted Asian carp out of the Great Lakes and along the Mississipi river.
The region is currently battling against the invasive species which can endanger and threaten native stocks.
Duane Chapman, a U.S. Geological Survey biologist and Asian carp expert, says the fish are likely to show up in places where Mississippi floodwaters intruded. They can weigh up to 100 pounds, grow 4 feet long and live for 25 years.
They could be crowding out food sources of native species for decades.
"I think there is a very serious issue here," said Chapman. "We may now be finding them in lakes, ponds, bayous, anywhere the river water went. Those things will be full of carp now."
Asian carp is a term applied to several related species of carp that were brought to the United States in the 1970s to control algae in catfish farms in the South. Floods washed them into the Mississippi River in the 1980s.
Since their escape into the wild, the carp have established themselves in the Mississippi and Missouri river basins. They endanger native fish by greedily eating aquatic vegetation and robbing local species of their food supply.
The battle to keep them out of the Great Lakes includes the use of underwater cameras and sonar to monitor the effectiveness of the Army Corps of Engineers' electronic barriers.
The Mississippi's spring floods inundated an estimated 6.5 million acres along a 1,000-mile stretch of winding river from Cape Girardeau, Mo., to the Mississippi's mouth in Louisiana, said corps spokesman Bob Anderson.
Huge common banked
A huge 41lb 8oz common carp has just been landed from a Luton AC water.
The mighty fish was taken from a four-acre Bedfordshire venue, which is fishable on a club ticket costing just £50 a year!
It was the captor’s first English ‘forty’ and fell to a ‘naked chod rig’, presented over a good scattering boilies and hemp.
“It fought really hard right from the off,” the delighted captor told Angling Times.
More details of this, plus other breaking news of carp catches, as they happen, only on www.gofishing.co.uk.
