Five carp in a day at Savay

Five carp in a season from Savay would be classed as a great result, but that many in a session is pretty much unheard of – but Stuart Court achieved the incredible feat with a haul that included a brace of forties.

The Watford-based all-rounder’s session didn’t get off to the best start when, on the second night of his week rota on the historic Colne Valley water, he landed an upper-thirty which subsequently escaped from the net while he was arranging a photographer.

His luck soon changed when he landed two more thirties the next day - a 30lb 12oz common and an ancient mirror of 30lb 8oz.

“That night I was kept awake by liner, after liner, after liner so I knew there was obviously a few fish in the area,” explained the 41-year-old. “What happened next is still a bit of a haze, but that morning I ended up two forties in the net at the same time. The first was a fish known as the Long Leney at a weight of 40lb exactly. After a decent scrap I netted it, and as I could still see fish in the area I quickly recast the rod. Incredibly, shortly afterwards I had another take which resulted in one of my target fish – The Wimbledon Common at 45lb 10oz. It was a stroke of luck that I had two nets with me as I usually only carry one.

“I’ve been told that I’m possibly first angler to have two Savay forties on the bank at the same time,” he added.

All of Stuart’s fish were taken from the top of a gravel plateau at 40 yards range which he kept topped up with Baitcraft Super K boilies. Over the top of this he cast snowman style hookbaits consisting of a 15mm bottom topped with a Tutti Frutti barrel-shaped pop-up. These were mounted on rigs constructed from 25lb ESP Strip Teaze Two Tone Silt and a Raptor D7 hook.

“It’s fairly uncommon to catch from the top of the bars and plateaus at Savay. I’d seen a few fish up in the water the previous week, though, so I took a gamble that they would still be happy feeding in the shallower water. As the fish don’t show themselves much a lot of the fishing at Savay is based on your gut instincts and this time I was lucky enough to get it right.”