Crucian best broken 15 times

A MANIC session at a southern club water saw Mike Lyddon break his crucian carp personal best no less than 15 times, with the largest fish weighing in at 4lb 2oz.

The Gardner Tackle sales rep spent several weeks heavily baiting a spot with groundbait at the Surrey venue and his hard work paid dividends during the two day trip which saw him net 31 specimens – 20 of which were over 3lb and two over the 4lb-barrier!

With conditions perfect for a few bites, he rigged up a simple Method feeder setup comprising 6lb Hydroflo mainline, a short 5lb fluorocarbon hooklink and a size 16 Target Specimen hook baited with rubber casters.

“On a good day you can expect to catch four or five big crucian carp from this lake and I was hopeful that I was going to beat my 3lb 7oz best,” explained Mike.

It didn’t take long for him to meet that goal, with a fish of 3lb 8oz on his first cast of the day.
The bites then just kept on coming, with the best of the session – a fish 7oz short of the British record - coming half way through the trip. “It was a once in a lifetime session and I’m still pinching myself – it was beyond my wildest expectations,” the Osprey Specimen Group member told Angling Times.

“Every time I got a bite I knew it could be a 3lb-plus crucian and the smallest of the lot was still over 2lb. At one point I landed four huge fish in a manic five-minute spell.”

With venue’s crucians piling on weight, he is confident it could produce a new British record but is aware there is only a small window of opportunity to achieve such a feat.

“These fish are feeding up in preparation for spawning and I think they will start in a couple of weeks. If someone can catch one of the biggest fish before that time, though, there is a good chance they could get their name in the history books,” added Mike.