Lean streak ended with a 44lb 2oz carp best

The giants of Holme Fen have wised up a fair bit since the venue opened this summer, so Lloyd Chapman was delighted to bank the lake’s first fish in nearly a fortnight.
The Cambridgeshire day-ticket water burst on to the scene in July with a string of forties and fifties, but Lloyd had to tough it out for his new personal best of 44lb 2oz.
The interior designer from Berkshire said: “The lake had not done a fish for almost two weeks and I was the only angler to catch on that 48-hour session, so to say I was feeling pretty damn happy would be an understatement!”
The 34-year-old added: “The bite came early morning at the end of the first night at about 70 yards out in a swim called The Reeds.
“The fish initially buried itself in the weed but luckily the lead had dumped, and this made playing it a little easier.
“However, I also had to stop it steaming into the swim next door, which had a patch of reeds extending out into the lake.
“After some wrestling and patience on my part, I managed to bag it into the net in the deep clear water in front of me.”
Lloyd, whose previous personal best weighed 30lb 1oz, used a Sticky Pineapple and N-Butyric wafter over Bloodworm boilies on rigs made with Korda components.