900lb Linear haul for Tom Maker

Tom Maker has once again shown why he is widely regarded as one of the most prolific carp catchers in the UK following a mind-blowing 57-carp haul from Linear Fisheries Brasenose One totalling more than 900lb.

His catch was made all the more special as he arrived on a Saturday morning, slotted into the last available swim on the lake and only fished until the following afternoon.

The highlight of the haul was a 31lb mirror with the average weight being 16lb, and incredibly all of his action came during the daytime without a single bite during the night.

After locating a clear area among the weed at 70 yards range, the Fox and Mainline consultant clipped all three of his rods up to the spot. “This is a tactic I favour when fishing for big hits of carp as it enables me to concentrate a shoal of fish in one area which keeps them feeding competitively for longer,” he explained.

“Once all three rods where out I put out 10 spods of a mix consisting of hemp, pellets and sweetcorn. Usually you have to wait an hour or two for the fish to get on the bait but on this occasion the action was pretty much instant. By Saturday evening I had landed no less than 33 carp with the biggest going 29lb 4oz as well as a few other twenties to 26lb 4oz. Very rarely did I get single takes - usually it was double, or even treble takes, and the angler next door had to help me out. After each bite I simply topped the spot up with a further three spods to keep the fish competing for food.”

As soon as darkness fell the bites dried up, but at 10am the next morning the takes started coming thick and fast again.

“Over the next six hours I went onto land a further 24 carp including two thirties to 31lb. I think at one point I had six fish in five nets and a retainer sling, comprising two doubles, a 24lb 6oz, 26lb 8oz, 30lb 6oz and 31lb. It was action like I had never experienced before on the lake and while I was playing one of the thirties my other rod screamed off and I landed the second.”

Tom kept his rigs simple with 2ft of leadcore coupled with a 4oz inline lead and a 4ins Fox Reflex braid hooklink with a size 5 Arma Point SSBP hook. Hookbait wise, he used a single grain of fake corn soaked in Hinders Betalin liquid, which instead of hair-rigging, was threaded directly on to the hook.