1,000lb match weight soon on the cards

“A 1,000lb match weight is on the cards”. That is the verdict of experts after a top match angler hauled out 936lb of carp during a contest at bagging haven Arran’s Lake.

GOT Baits rod Nick Darke was the man to take the accolade after he hit top gear during a six hour club event at the Essex complex.

Fishery staff insist on holding a three hour match in the morning with a weigh in at lunch before running another contest of the same duration in the afternoon to aid fish welfare.

Action got off to a blistering start for Nick and in the first half he placed a staggering 477lb of carp on the scales. “At the end of the first half everyone was just looking around shaking their heads – it was crazy fishing,” he said. “My previous best in six hours was just over 500lb and I must admit it entered my head whether 1,000lb was on the cards.”

The afternoon session followed a similar pattern with Nick weighing in 459lb.

“I caught all my fish on paste over corn close in, with most of them averaging around the 5lb-mark. It was a very freakish day and I certainly wouldn’t want to do it again in a hurry,” added Nick.

All of the 22 participants broke the three figure barrier, with second placed Tony Wynnick taking a total of 837lb to knock Pete Archer’s 790lb bag in to third.

Tony, owner of Burt Baits, was equally shocked by the experience after catching a-carp-a-chuck using meat over Glow groundbait. He told Angling Times: “It was all a bit surreal to be honest. We rarely fish matches at Arran’s in summer but we decided on a one off and even though we expected to catch lots of fish, we never thought about weights as big as this.”

“I reckon I lost 200lb of fish throughout the day so with that in mind, 1,000lb is definitely a possibility in the future,” he concluded.

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