Ton-up charity match win
This 29lb 2oz mirror carp helped Stewart Corbiere to victory in a charity match at Hunstrete Main Lake near Bristol.
The local angler had another mirror of 27lb 8oz, plus a 20lb 2oz common and two doubles, for a total weight of 111lb 4oz in the 24-hour competition. All his fish fell to surface-fished dog biscuits.
The biggest carp of the match went to Martin Norgan, who landed a fish of 32lb 7oz.
Overall, 28 carp were caught, with an average weight of 22lb. The Bathampton AA event raised £100 for the club’s chosen charity, CLIC Sargent.
30lb 8oz ghost carp falls during night session
An overnight session on a big Oxfordshire gravel pit gave Mark Young a 30lb 3oz mirror carp and this 30lb 8oz ghostie.
The 30-year-old from nearby Littlemore fished a silt patch at 160 yards and rowed his hookbaits out, placing them 15ft apart in about 7ft of water.
The electrician got through 3.5kg of chopped and whole 16mm frozen Stick Krill boilies during his 16-hour session and used a matching White Ones pop-up as a hookbait.
He used 12lb E-S-P mainline and a multi rig of 30lb Korda N-trap and size 6 Rig It Tackle Chod hook with a 4oz lead.
How big was this mirror carp? Scales break, but captor knows it topped 43lb
Mark Barker will never know the exact weight of this Suffolk carp after his scales broke as they spun past 43lb.
But with three twenties and the lake’s biggest resident falling to his rods in 48 hours at West Stow Country Park he wasn’t complaining.
Mark, who was alone on the water which has a no-sacking rule, said: “The consensus around the syndicate is the fish could have done 45lb-plus and broken my pb. It was last caught at 46lb 8oz, but I had no option but to settle on 43lb-plus.”
It was only Mark’s second session at the venue and, with warm, sunny conditions, he found the fish in the shallower part of the lake.
Having positioned a rod on a clear spot in the margins, Mark’s first take came at 7am on the second day and produced a mirror called Broken Lin at 24lb 10oz. Three hours later, a 23lb common fell to the same rod and at 4pm he got the take from the lake’s biggest resident.
“It was evident that this was a much better stamp of fish from its heavy, plodding fight. After five minutes, though, I netted a large-framed leathery-looking carp.”
A 20lb common the next morning completed the session for Mark, who baited with new Mad Baits boilie.
90lb carp haul... in two fish!
Karl Pitcher watched in awe as this 50lb 4oz mirror carp muscled through the weed and dropped on to his hookbait during a session which yielded two fish for nearly 90lb.
The Fox and CC Moore-backed angler made the most of a 48-hour session at his Cambridgeshire syndicate water to land the fifty known as Harris before catching a 37-pounder known as Flat Head.
Having cast into holes in the weed, Karl sat back and was able to observe the key moments before his first bite. He said: “From the corner of my eye I could see a huge set of shoulders moving from left to right. It moved through the weed towards the hole I was fishing in, then I saw the shoulders disappear. In seconds my middle rod hooped over and I was in. The fish must have made a beeline for the fluoro pop-up!
“The carp weeded me, but I kept steady pressure on the rod, the fish kicked free and was soon in my net. The owner arrived and confirmed it was the king of the pond, a fish called Harris.
“We got the sling zeroed, slipped Harris inside and were l surprised when the scales went round to 50lb 4oz, a new personal best and my first UK 50lb-plus carp.”
Karl added: “Watching the fish disappear and take my hookbait made the capture very special!”
The session was rounded off the following morning with the capture of Flat Head at 37lb.
“What an end to an already brilliant trip,” said Karl, who presented pink CC Moore Live System pop-ups on hinged rigs surrounded by matching freebies.
When the ball of weed came free...
Coming in covered in a ball of weed, it wasn’t until this common carp was on the unhooking mat that Tim Rowland realised how beautiful it was.
The 34lb 8oz fish fell during a weekend session on Christchurch at Oxfordshire’s busy Linch Hill complex.
The 35-year-old had a quiet Saturday, but the lake switched on when cloud rolled in on Sunday. He said: “At 6.30am the left-hand rod pulled tight. The fish weeded me, but after putting waders on and getting a fresh angle on the fish it came free.”
Tim, from Lutterworth, Leics, fished Sticky Krill boilies soaked in Amino Liquid.
Cornish 30lb carp banked after a two-year break
A Cornish 30-pounder is an impressive fish, and this elusive mirror carp was even more special for Ashley Bunning.
The powerfully built fish, known as Arnie, had not been caught for two years before it picked up the Gloucestershire-based angler’s bait at Porth Reservoir near Newquay.
Ashley, who is originally from Devon, said: “After walking round the lake and finding some fish, I presented a critically-balanced 20mm Nash 4G Squid boilie fished over a scattering of 30 to 40 Nash 4G Squid and some homemade boilie freebies.
He added: “Within an hour the rod ripped off and this was the result – happy days!
“It is a cracking fish and one I will never forget.”
Ben Smeeth, who works for venue owner South West Lakes Trust, said: “This fish has not been caught for over two years from the 40-acre venue.”
For more information about Porth Reservoir and other carp lakes in the area visit www.swlakestrust.org.uk or call 01288 321262.
Chuck it and chance it for a 54lb carp
We’ve all lobbed our rigs out at short range while getting properly set up – but few will have ever landed a 54lb carp as a result.
That is exactly what happened to Corey Moore as he connected with one of the largest day-ticket carp in the country just moments after moving swims at Swan Lake on the Bluebell complex in Northants.
“As we were unloading the car I took my rod pod out first, then the first rod, and just underarmed it out about 15 yards while I got the rest of the gear sorted,” said the 24-year-old. “Within five minutes, probably even less, it was running – I couldn’t believe it!”
The security officer, whose previous personal best was 20lb, added: “It was like pulling a train, it was dragging me into the water – my arms and back are still hurting now!”
After a 15-minute battle, Corey’s mate Jake Burns scooped the fish into the net, but the pair were still to realise its true size.
“He couldn’t stop smiling and shaking my hand,” said Corey. “But it wasn’t until we both had to lift it on to the mat that we realised how big it was and what fish it was.”
The Nottingham angler, who generally only gets out for one session a month due to work and family commitments, reflected: “It was crazy, something that will never happen again.”
Corey fished a crab and crawfish pop-up topped with two fresh prawns on a standard braid hair rig.
Getting a taste for it on father-and-son fishing session
A Maiden father-and-son carp fishing session for Paul Heseltine brought him two thirties and three twenties.
The 31-year-old Nottinghamshire angler took his four-year-old son Rylen to Monks Pit in Cambridgeshire and the pair notched up 10 fish in total, topped by mirrors of 34lb 3oz and 32lb 2oz.
“It was made that little bit more special as this was the first father-and-son outing for me and my little man. Although he wasn’t actually fishing, it was very nice to see him taking such a great interest in our sport and I’m sure he will soon be fishing with me,” said Paul, who targeted clear areas between weed and baited with Mad Baits boilies presented on multi-rigs.
Pepped-up pop-up fools Norfolk 42lb carp
This belting 42lb carp fell to Chris Abbott during an overnight session on a Norfolk stillwater.
The 24-year-old targeted a slightly deeper spot 25 yards from the bank and tricked the fish on a low-lying hinged stiff rig made with a size 5 Nash Chod Twister hook.
“I fished a single corkball Sticky Krill pop-up made with extra additives in a 4ft-deep hole surrounded by 2ft to 3ft of water,” the East Dereham window fitter said.
Captor thunderstruck at 32lb 2oz PB Weston Park mirror
A stormy overnight session gave Adam Firth a 22lb common carp followed by this new pb mirror of 32lb 2oz.
The Korum media co-ordinator turned up to Weston Park in Shropshire late on a Friday evening and, with just over 12 hours at his disposal, decided to bait heavily.
“I only had until 10.30am the next morning and with the lake empty of other members I decided to put some bait in to draw the carp to my hookbaits,” said Adam.
Having spodded out 4kg of hemp, Sonubaits F1 Corn and Code Red boilies, Adam cast two reverse combi rigs over the top. His third rod was dispatched into the RH Fisheries venue on a chod rig.
After a sleepless night in the teeth of a thunderstorm, Adam landed a thickset 22lb 8oz common and was into another fish just 15 minutes late.
He said: “When the fish went over the net I thought it was about the same size as the other one I’d had, but when I tried to lift it out I realised that it was slightly bigger!
“When I lifted it up on the scales it went past 25lb, past 30lb and settled on 32lb 2oz – a new personal best.
“There’s no better feeling in fishing! I went home, smelling like carp, with a smile on my face.”
Heatwave Fryerning carp of 39lb 4oz and 37lb 2oz
Top carper Adam Penning was made to work hard in searing heat but was rewarded with two new personal bests.
The former E-S-P and Korda man, who now offers fishing tutorials, took a new zig-caught personal best of 37lb 2oz and a surface-caught best of 39lb 4oz from Fryerning Fisheries
in Essex.
The larger of the two mirrors, known as Four Scale, is the biggest floater-caught fish the 44-year-old has caught since the turn of the century.
“It’s a new floater pb for me after 15 years of trying to beat my previous best,” said the Essex rod. “I saw this girl take the bait and an epic scrap followed. I’m honestly speechless – carp fishing has the ability to stupefy me!”
Adam, who was fishing a 72-hour session on the complex’s Main Lake, fed Hinders Floaters and used a 12mm Sticky Krill White Ones pop-up on the hook. A couple of biteless nights followed, but constantly adjusting zig rigs paid dividends in the session’s dying moments.
Said Adam: “The next couple of nights passed without result. I have been working my socks off trying to get a bite but there’s been nothing caught over bait for a while now – it was really hard going.
“But I’ve been playing around with zigs and I changed colour and changed depth, and eventually, while I was packing down at the end of my session, I had a bite – just one bleep – and this creature was the result.
“It’s by far the biggest fish I’ve had on a zig – 37lb 2oz! It’s a session I won’t forget in a long time – it’s made my day, made my month.”
Squad for Spanish carp showdown almost complete
One place in the England carp squad is still up for grabs as the team prepare to take on the world in Spain later this year.
New manager Rob Hughes has announced seven of the eight who will compete in the World Carp Championship in October.
Billy Flowers and Jamie Londors will form the backbone of the team, with Rob declaring: “I wanted a pair who have experience of international campaigning to build my future team around, and Billy and Jamie are that pair.”
Joining them are reigning Eric’s Carp Championship winners Harry Charrington and Alexei Bygrave, plus British Carp Angling Championship holders Neil Rivers and Chris Holmes.
The seventh man in the squad is Mark Bartlett, who has represented England before.
Rob added: “I’m very pleased with the line-up that I have put together and I will be increasing the squad in the future as we have some brilliant plans for Team England.
“My aim is to build a pool of anglers that I can draw on, whatever the situation we find ourselves in.”
Tail clues to giant canal carp
Few canal carp are as impressive-looking as this 38lb 2oz lump landed by Ashley Coxhead.
Having prebaited a stretch of the Basingstoke Canal in Hampshire, Ashley was mobbed by a succession of smaller carp before the new personal best picked up his hookbait.
Arriving at his swim at 6am on a Monday to find his chosen spot freshly cleaned of the bait he had already put in, Ashley landed a low-double common in the evening before bagging more doubles the next day.
“I was certain that the smaller fish were moving on to the bait before the wiser, older and bigger carp would,” said Ashley, “so at 2pm I decided to reel in.”
Resting the swim until the Wednesday morning, Ashley then topped up the swim with Pandemic and Addiction boilies from Mad Baits.
“At exactly midday the rigs went back out and within 20 minutes a run came from a 24lb mirror,” said Ashley.
“Half an hour later I had another at 22lb. All then went quiet for a couple of hours and I put another 20 or so baits on to the spot.
“Shortly after, I noticed aggressive tail patterns appearing, seemingly emanating from just one fish.
“Bearing in mind the spot is 6ft deep, I thought it must be a monster. I was eagerly sitting on my rod when the line picked up and I was in.
“After a hairy 15-minute fight she was in the back of the net – get in!”
Ashley fished a trimmed-down Pandemic wafter mounted on a size 6 Gardner Wide Gape Talon Tip hook.
Mirror carp 'Scale on the Shoulder' falls to a Sticky Krill boilie
This mirror carp known as Scale on the Shoulder weighed in at 40lb 8oz and topped a three-fish catch for Rob Gooch.
The 38-year-old’s weekend session at a Bedfordshire clay pit also produced a fish of 31lb 2oz and a mid-double.
The Hertfordshire angler arrived at the busy venue on a Friday evening and settled into a swim in the centre of the lake. Baiting a bar at 50yds and a plateau at 75yds, it was the longer-range rod that produced.
“Just into dark I had a couple of liners, leaving me hopeful for the night ahead,” said Rob. “At around 1am I got another couple of line bites, one of which had me running from the bivvy, but within a short time my right-hand rod fished on the plateau gave a few bleeps and sailed away.”
After a dogged scrap, Rob netted the 31-pounder and managed a mid-double on the recast rod later that morning.
Having topped up the swim with bait and moved another rod on to the plateau, the biggest fish of the session arrived at about 1.30am the following night.
“From the off, I could feel that the fish was very heavy, just using her weight to slowly move around the swim. There was no real drama until she was under the rod-tip, where she showed me her real power and stripped line uncontrollably on a good few occasions.
“It was a real relief when she finally slipped over the net cord,” he said.
Rob fed Sticky Krill boilies and bloodworm pellets doused in Sticky Pure Krill liquid.
70lb 4oz French carp on ‘Big Fish Thursday’
‘Big Fish Thursday’ lived up to its name for Lee Hemsley, who banked this 70lb 4oz mirror carp on a trip to France.
Many Brits visiting Europe believe that the Thursday of a week-long session seems to bring the biggest fish, and so it proved for Lee at Pascale Lake in the Champagne region.
He said: “After a slow week with only a couple of fish out of the lake, Big Fish Thursday came and with it a change of weather and a steady take just before dinner.
“The fish fell to a bait I’ve been testing for the last 12 months, a critically balanced 15mm pop-up over a large bed of 6mm-18mm boilies, whole and chopped, plus a scattering of hemp.”
Patience pays off with five carp to a 40lb 9oz best
Simon Harbottle returned to the bank after a three-month absence and immediately got stuck into a five-carp haul that included two thirties and a forty.
The Stockton-on-Tees angler made the trip south to Cambridgeshire’s Monks Pit, but had to bide his time to get into the area he wanted to fish.
“This was my first session in over three months and it turned out to be quite a memorable one,” said the 45-year-old.
“When I arrived for my 72-hour session I saw fish showing in an area of the lake but the swim was occupied, so I set up in a nearby area and slept under the stars.
“I had a quiet night, and when the swim I wanted became vacant I had a few casts of the lead at about 85yds to where the fish had been showing – and, as I suspected, the area was firm and clear.”
Simon used a throwing stick to deposit 2kg of All Season Mix boilies from Key Bait Solutions over the spot and fished hi-viz snowman rigs over the top.
“My first two fish fell off, but I went on to land five in total, including a 7lb stockie and mirrors of 29lb 10oz, 30lb 8oz and 34lb 9oz. I saved the best till last with a 40lb 9oz mirror.”
Two mornings – two 40lb carp… and that brings the tally to five since April
A mammoth carp session yielded two forties in consecutive mornings for in-form Mike Deakin at Berkshire’s famous Horton Church Lake.
The Cheshire angler, who’s had five forties since April, had been due to fish the RK Leisure venue for 14 nights, but turned up to find the carp spawning and had to wait well into his second week to get among the fish.
When he did, the 47-year-old managed the mirror known as Spotty at 45lb 4oz and Uno at 42lb 10oz, backed up by a 35lb grass carp and a sought-after resident known as the Thorpe Park Leney at 26lb 4oz.
“When I got there the fish started spawning, so the lake was closed off. I went over to Kingsmead One for five nights and by that time Horton was open again. I got into a swim called Shoulders and the fish were crashing all over me, but the line lay from that swim was garbage, so when the swim opposite came free I moved in there.”
After a blank first night in the new peg, Mike woke to a number of fish showing themselves over his area. “I must’ve had about 100 shows in front of me, it was spectacular. About an hour later, at about 6am, I had the first take, which was Spotty at 45lb 4oz.”
The routine repeated itself the next morning and Mike managed to land Uno at 42lb 10oz. He said: “I’ve wanted that fish for a long, long time, so I couldn’t believe it when it rolled over the net.”
The shift manager, who baited with Apex boilies from Impulse Baits, presented matching hookbaits on snowman set-ups mounted to multi rigs.
Friends share haul topped by targeted 36lb fish
Sharing special captures with friends can make success even sweeter, as Ross Ryder found on a productive social session.
The Dorset angler shared a swim on a local syndicate with friend Hadley Ever and banked a 40lb 4oz mirror carp, a 36lb 12oz linear he had been targeting and a 26lb mirror. Not to be outdone, Hadley managed two twenties and a 35lb 8oz mirror.
“What a crazy night and an amazing experience to share with such a good friend,” said Ross.
“For me this is what fishing is about, having fun and creating memories with great company.”
The tiler added: “The fish turned up in front of us while we were setting up and we knew we were in for a couple. By the time we got set up and put the rods out it was 6pm.
“At 8pm my middle rod tore off, the tip bending over the top of my right-hand rod with line peeling from the spool. After a 10-minute battle a dark mirror rolled into the net. Lifting her on to the mat we realised how big she was – at 40lb 4oz she was my second forty of the year and my third UK forty overall.”
The hours of darkness brought Hadley’s fish, before Ross resumed his haul at breakfast time with two bites in quick succession. The second run resulted in an epic battle in the weed before a plump mirror eventually rolled into the net.
“We got her on the mat, peeled back the net and there she was, my target fish The Football Linear at 36lb 12oz – what a buzz!”
All the fish fell to 15mm Dynamite Source pop-ups on hinged stiff rigs over matching boilies and chilli hemp.
Stoneacres’ carp Mr Magoo out at 43lb
One of the finest carp in Oxfordshire fell to Adam Smith during a four-night session at Linch Hill.
The 42-year-old banked this 43lb mirror carp, known as Mr Magoo, during his stay on Stoneacres.
The Devon-based angler, who banked a 28lb mirror on the same session, said: “I waded out into 3ft of water and made a clear spot in the silkweed with my foot.
“I dropped a rig on it, then crumbled some Sticky Krill boilies over the top and put chops around the area.”
Adam presented a Krill wafter hookbait on a rig made with a size 6 Korda Wide Gape hook, 20lb N-Trap Soft and a 5oz lead.
1000lb of carp in 48 hours
An incredible session saw Rob Hughes land almost 1,000lb of carp in 48 hours.
The Fox consultant and England carp team manager racked up 24 fish including six forties, two fifties and a 62lb 10oz mirror during his short stay at France’s Lake Chantebouef.
Rob said: “The lake is quite small but the perfect storm was brewing. It had been quiet for a couple of weeks, the weather was spot on, and I opted for a stealthy approach, fishing the edges and keeping casting down to a minimum. I went for the little-and-often baiting approach and fished just two rods most of the time.
“It worked right from the off as my first three fish within a couple of hours of getting there were a forty and two fifties. The action carried on and I had so many 39lb fish I almost lost count. Two 49lb 8oz fish and a 49-pounder meant it could have been five fifties and a sixty, but I’m not grumbling at all.”
Rob used DNA PB wafters on hooklinks made with Fox Camotex Soft and size 6 SSBP hooks.
