Hunch pays off with a 37lb 2oz mirror

THE odds were stacked against Mark Bodell when he arrived at his chosen venue, but he managed to winkle out this 37lb 2oz mirror while using a new bait for the first time.

Arriving on a Sunday morning to find no fish had been caught or seen, the Sticky Baits-backed rod called on his previous experiences at the lake to find somewhere to present his rigs.

He told Angling Times: “After being told that the lake had been fishing quietly I had a look around for over an hour but did not see anything to go on.

“I eventually decided to go in peg one because it is the weediest part of the lake in the summer and I was hoping there was some fallen weed still about. It was also on the back of the wind.”

Mark continued: “After casting a lead about I found that there was still weed about so I dropped three rigs around 50 yards out, just beyond a weed bed, with around 2kg of scattered 12mm and 16mm Vor-Tex boilies.

“The following morning at 7am the middle rod ripped off resulting in a 37lb 2oz Mirror carp. I was so over the moon that my hunch about the weed was right I'm made up with this capture but what makes this extra special is that it was the first time on the Sticky Baits.”