It’s all go at new venue Monument Two

A new day-ticket fishery opened with a bang last week.
The Monument Two in Shropshire welcomed paying anglers for the first time – with nearly 30 fish being banked in the opening 36 hours.
The pick of the bunch was this 38lb carp for Adam Deck, with Steve Johnson and Matt Wilshaw also getting among the thirties.
In test fishing, the lake produced fish to 43lb. It is believed the water now holds at least 50 thirties.
For more information visit www.rhfisheries.com or call 01952 463 141

First French carp is 87lb!

When Bruce Head set off for his maiden trip to France he had his sights set on a 20-pounder, but his first Gallic carp turned out to be one of the biggest in the world.
On his first day of fishing, the 34-year-old banked the Scar Fish – a huge mirror which once held the world record at 99lb. This time it was down in weight, but still pulled the scales round to 87lb.
“I went thinking ‘if I catch a twenty I’ll be happy’,” said Bruce. “I could only have dreamed of catching the legendary Scar Fish, but I did! Everyone I tell thinks it’s incredible – my first French fish is 87lb!”
The Norfolk angler arrived on Saturday, but after baiting a selection of spots he didn’t get his rods out until the following day. At 5pm on the Sunday, the giant mirror picked up one of his baits and Bruce jumped in a boat to do battle out in the lake.
“After about five minutes the fish came to the surface and it looked big, but I had no idea it was Scar.” After being pulled around in circles for 10 minutes, Bruce steadied the boat.
“The fish came up and looked ready to net, and as I’ve gone to slowly pull the fish towards the landing net I’ve seen the scar and the size of the fish. Just then it was off again!
“All I was thinking is that no-one is going to believe me that it was Scar if it comes off! After another 10 minutes of being pulled around she came up again, but this time I got the net under her – but with great difficulty!
“I couldn’t believe the size of it, it took up the whole net!”
Bruce, who had two forties later in the week, tempted the Scar on a corked-out 18mm Mainline Cell boilie tied to a size 6 wide-gape hook on a blowback rig.

Veteran’s personal best carp in downpour from famous Bucks lake

One of the country’s most historic carp waters threw up this 42lb 8oz mirror for experienced big-fish man Brian Hankins.
The fish came from Savay, a tricky water in Buckinghamshire’s Colne Valley which has hosted many of angling’s famous names through the years.
“This is my new personal best,” said Brian, who is the longest-serving syndicate member and began fishing the venue in 1981.
“My previous best was also a Savay mirror of 40lb, caught in 1997.”
The 61-year-old added: “My original plan was to fish on the Colne bank for eels at night, then carp fish during daylight.
“But heavy rain on the Sunday saw me set up near the car park to avoid being drowned!” said Brian.
“Also, a few carp were showing in Cottage Bay, so the Rat Hole swim became my home for the next couple of days.
“I found a couple of clear spots and, once I’d baited up, I settled in for the night. No carp were showing the next morning and I wondered if they had moved, but after a full walk around the lake and no fish spotted I decided to stay put – the continuous rain made it an easy decision!”
Due off at 2pm on the Tuesday, Brian spotted a carp roll over his close-in spot at 1pm.
“At 1.45pm the buzzer burst into life and I was doing battle with a heavy fish. It was soon covered in thick weed, but after a struggle both fish and weed went into the net,” he said.
“Every Savay carp is a very rewarding capture –this was my second this year – and we knew straight away it was a forty!”
The fish fell to Solar boilies presented on a snowman rig with a braided hooklink and Solar 101 hook.

Fifth 50lb carp this year... from the same venue!

It’s highly unlikely that any other carp angler in the country can rival the 2015 that Kris Ollington is having.
Staggeringly, this 52lb common is the fifth 50lb-plus fish he has caught from Berkshire’s Wellington Country Park this summer.
The fish, known as the Big Common, came along with a 36lb 10oz mirror in a 15-minute spell at the end of a gruelling four-night session in which the 33-year-old fished five different swims.
“It’s been a once-in-a-lifetime summer, it’s something that is never, ever going to happen again,” he said.
“I started in a swim called Brambles for two nights and ended up fishing five swims in four nights, chasing the fish around the lake. I ended up in a swim called Hole in the Bush and had two in 15 minutes!
“The fish were showing close to an island at about 140yds, which is just out of my range, so I was fishing at about 125yds with single hookbaits. I had the 36, which is known as the Pretty Sutton and is one of the prettiest fish in the lake, then literally as I was putting it back I had the other bite.
“Both fish put up great fights, keeping me on a long line for a long time.”
Kris fished with Mainline Activ-8 boilies on blowback rigs made with Gardner Ultra Skin and Korda Kaptor Kurv hooks.

Farriers Lake 35lb carp on pop-up

An overnight session on the Carp Society’s Farriers Lake produced this 35lb 2oz common carp for Duncan Arrandale.
The Wychwood and Richworth consultant said: “On arrival a fresh south-westerly wind had sprung up. I looked on the back of the wind and saw a fish show on the opposite side of the lake 300 yards away. I fished to the near right-hand edge of a sizeable clear area, roughly where I thought the fish had shown.
“I presented a pop-up on a multi rig over five Spombs of boilies and at 11pm the alarm went into meltdown, resulting in this 35lb 2oz common.”

Prebaiting in the weed brings in a 31lb carp

Prebaiting a weedy corner of Kingsmead One produced this 31lb carp for Jack Funnell.
“I had been at the lake several days prior to the session and had noticed fish were finding sanctuary in one of the small weedy bays,” said the 23-year-old fishery manager.
“I decided to put a little bit of bait in the area, knowing that when I came back later in the week I would stand a good chance of catching one.
“I returned several days later and a small group of fish were still in the area. I had a take at 6.30am for three days running, resulting in a 10lb stockie, a 23 and a 31.”
Jack fished Sticky Krill boilies on chods made from Korda bits.

Kent 39lb carp highlight of three-night stay

The ever-consistent Ted Bryan kept his cool in soaring temperatures to bank four twenties and this 39lb mirror carp.
The South Londoner, who was targeting a Kent stillwater, said: “It was a scorcher and all the fish were on the top so I knew the only chance I would have would be in the really early hours, so I got my traps set and waited for it to cool down.”
The first night of Ted’s three-night stay produced a 20lb common at 2am, but everything went quiet until after dark the following day.
“The next night I put all three rods at the bottom of the marginal shelf and baited up with 1kg of Nash TG Active boilies, and once again I waited for it to cool down,” he said.
“At 2.30am I had a take that pulled my rod out of its rest! The fish took at least 60 yards of line before
I could stop it and when I finally gained the line back, it took it all back again. And again! When I finally got it in the net and weighed it, it went 39lb – and it was a beauty.”
A 24-pounder followed two hours later and the last night produced fish of 27lb and 28lb. “All in all, I had a very good trip,” said Ted, who used 3oz inline leads and rigs made with 20lb Nash Missing Link and size 8 Nash Fang X hooks.

Two Wellington forties for Gardner ace

Extending an overnighter by taking an impromptu day’s holiday gave Lewis Read the second of two 40lb carp.
Having already banked The Linear at 42lb, the Gardner Tackle marketing and product manager stayed on at Wellington Country Park to bag Drop Scale at 45lb 10oz.
Lewis got to the Berkshire venue late on Sunday, and said: “I was lucky to find some really active feeding fish in front of a rarely fished swim in the Little Lake area.”
He swung his hookbait just three rodlengths out. “Almost straight away I had an indication that may have been a big fish getting caught in the super-slack line, then at around midnight I had The Linear at 42lb.
“I woke with my alarm clock going off at 6am ready to go to work, but it was clear that the fish were still stacked up in the Little Lake so I rang in and extended my stay. 
“Having recast at 8.30am, I watched huge fizzes of bubbles, and just after lunch the middle rod steamed off, the fish taking me 30 yards into the pads. Scary stuff!”
Lewis freed the fish and netted Drop Scale at 45lb 10oz. He used trimmed-down 12mm Carp Company Nut Mix pop-ups and matching 12mm bottom baits fished snowman-style on rigs tied with 20lb Gardner Tricklink and size 6 Gardner Incizors.

44lb 8oz pb carp is followed by Red Belly at 41lb

In-form Darren Hilton continued a recent run of good form with two forties in just half-an-hour.
Having recently banked a 43lb mirror carp in a four-fish hit at Kent’s Darenth Tip Lake, the Carp Couture boss was back for more with the same fish at 44lb 8oz and an elusive 41-pounder.
Arriving at the weedy venue on a Monday morning, the 44-year-old found three clear spots in a swim known as the Pallets and got his first bite at 4.30pm.
“On picking the rod up it felt a very good fish, and after a battle of about 10 minutes the fish was weedbound. However, after it slowly moved towards me through the thick surface weed help arrived, and I was grateful of the assistance to get the fish in.
“As it went over the net cord it looked familiar and on clearing the weed and unhooking it it was indeed a fish I’d had before, this time 1lb 2oz heavier at 44lb 8oz and a new pb mirror for me.”
After Darren had recast, he picked up his catapult to bait up but was interrupted by one of his other rods “exploding into life”.
“The fish broke the surface and showed that it wasn’t happy. It was heading for a weedbed further to the right before I even had a chance to grab the rod, even though I was only 2ft away!”
Another weedy battle followed and Darren was given another surprise when he was able to identify the fish.
“I couldn’t believe it, it looked like another serious fish, and it was confirmed it was the one known as Red Belly, uncaught for about 12 months, and at a weight of 41lb.”
Darren fed Mad Baits Wicked Whites and The Nutz boilies and presented Nutz pop-ups on hinged stiff rigs.

36lb common carp for Gord’s birthday boy

Walker Burton, son of legendary ‘piking pirate’ Gord, enjoyed a successful birthday trip to Linear Fisheries with a 36lb common as part of a multiple hit.
The new pb came during a five-day stay at St John’s on the Oxfordshire complex which also produced a 32lb 8oz mirror and six other carp to low twenties.
The Lancashire angler, who turned 24 during the session, said: “To catch such a common on the last morning of what had already been a successful trip was more than I could have asked for.”
Walker and his friend Lewis set up on the Road Bank after spotting a large common leap clear of the water. At 11pm, Walker got his first take and after a dogged fight slipped the net under a high-backed mirror of 32lb 8oz. Two more twenties followed that night before conditions took a turn for the worse the following day with bright sunshine and rising temperatures.
The next two nights produced four more carp to Walker and mirrors of 25lb and 33lb 8oz to Lewis, before the big common tripped up on the final evening.
“It was an absolute result, what dreams are made of,” said Walker, who fished combi rigs made with Korda components and baited with Baitworks Atlantic Heat boilies and sweetcorn.

55lb 8oz giant carp and four 30s!

Big-fish venue Wellington Country Park can be a tough nut to crack – but Kris Ollington is making it look easy right now.
This 55lb 8oz mirror carp, known as the Ulcer Fish, is his fourth fifty from the Berkshire venue this summer, and it came during an incredible session.
“I had seven fish in total including a 39, a 36, a 35 and a 31,” Kris told Angling Times. “Between 11.30am and 2.30pm I had five fish, including the 55. To have that number of fish in that short amount of time hasn’t happened for a long while on there, so it’s nice to be the one that did it.”
The 33-year-old electrician has been concentrating his efforts on an area known as the Little Lake, and this haul came from the same swim that produced three fifties in three sessions earlier this summer.
“When they are in that area and having it they are quite catchable,” he said.
“It was quite a hectic spell and I had forgotten to switch my bite alarm back on when I got the bite from the fifty. I just heard the clutch going and grabbed the rod. It was a good 30-minute scrap but eventually it came in.”
Kris, who caught the same fish at 49lb last March, baited lightly with Mainline Activ-8 boilies and fished matching hookbaits over the top on blowback rigs made with Gardner Ultra Skin and Korda Kaptor Kurv hooks.
The Surrey angler is now targeting an area of the lake known as Bramble Bay. “I’ve had my fill from that swim, so I’ll move to a different part of the lake for the next couple of months,” he said.

Huge Thames common carp... on a quivertip!

There aren’t too many near-35lb common carp in the upper Thames, but Alan Storey managed to tame one on a quivertip rod and a 6lb hooklink.
The experienced all-rounder was targeting bream on a stretch of the river near Oxford when the 34lb 12oz fish picked up his hookbait just moments after he had begun fishing.
The Nash-backed rod said: “I’ve been looking to find an area I can consistently catch bream from, so I’ve been trickling in a bit of bait.
“On Saturday, although I put a bit of bait in, I left it until dark before putting two rods out. Before I could roll a cigarette my second rod was away. I thought it could be a chub or a barbel picking up the bait, but I knew within seconds that it was a carp.
“The fight was fairly uneventful as I had deep water at my feet, but it still took 35 minutes to get into my pan net.”
Alan, from Oxfordshire, added: “It wasn’t particularly fat, but it was very long, with a huge mouth.
“I’m told it could be an Oxfordshire Thames record for a common, but it’s very hard to verify on the river.”
Alan fished a feeder stuffed with fishmeal and Nash 4G Squid pellets, with a whittled-down 14mm 4G bottom bait attached to a Nash Fang Twister hook.

Hard work pays off for 40lb Dinton carp

Believed to be more than 40 years old, this sought-after mirror carp fell to Paul Eaton at Dinton Pastures.
The fish, known as Apple Slice, weighed 40lb 2oz and came on an overnight session during which Paul completed multiple laps of the Berkshire venue before eventually getting his rods out at gone midnight.
The 31-year-old said: “Apple is one of Dinton’s original stock and is believed to be 40 to 45 years old. 
“With this being my first year on the syndicate, fishing alongside some exceptional anglers, I feel very privileged to have caught such an historic carp.”
The Reading angler, who has caught seven carp from Dinton in 29 nights since April, is largely restricted to overnight sessions and on this occasion he arrived at 8pm and began formulating a plan.
After three laps of the lake he eventually settled on a spot at midnight and fished his Sticky Krill wafters on their own, dipping the whole rig in matching liquid before casting out.
The bite came at 5am and the fish was eventually subdued after a lengthy battle. 
“It just shows that hard work with limited time, and ensuring you’re on the fish with a quality bait, makes all the difference,” said Paul.

52lb carp 'Butthead' falls to zig rig

A change to zig rigs turned a blank trip into “the session of a lifetime” for Daniel Healy when he caught one of the biggest carp in the North West at 52lb.

The fish, known as Butthead, came from Pendle View in Lancashire and was Dean’s second personal best of the session, following a change of tactics halfway through.

“The first 24 hours passed without incident,” said the 25-year-old.

“Then I began to notice fish showing in the area and decided to switch all my rods on to zigs.”

The Preston angler, who was on only his third visit to the venue, added: “The result was instant – within 15 minutes of the change my left-hand rod pulled up tight, resulting in a new pb in the shape of a mirror known as The Pig at 28lb 6oz.

“Two hours later I decided to reposition my middle rod and after 30 minutes it went, resulting in a 23lb 8oz common known as Two Tone.”

The rest of the rest of the day and night proved uneventful, but just on dawn on the final morning Daniel got the bite he had been waiting for.

“Just as the night sky started to turn inky blue I had a succession of five beeps on my middle rod and seconds later it screamed off. After a 20-minute fight it came in close and rolled on the surface. My friend Luke Makinson and I looked at each other in disbelief and the fight continued for a further minute or so before Luke was finally able to slide the net underneath what could only be described as a dream come true.

“It was the session of a lifetime for me, on a great family-run fishery.”

Daniel fished yellow Fox Zig Alignas on size 10 hooks and 10lb hooklinks at 12ins in 3ft of water.

Two 40lb carp from two different venues

Luke Edwards proved his ability across the RH Fisheries portfolio with two 40lb carp from two different venues just days apart.

The Wolverhampton rod began his run of form with a trip to Acton Burnell that yielded mirrors of 40lb 8oz and 35lb, then headed over to The Avenue to land a fish known as The Juggernaut at 41lb 8oz.

“I had five days booked off for the opening of The Avenue,” said Luke.

“On the Thursday I decided to fish Acton for a 36-hour session and was rewarded with a forty and a 35-pounder.

“Then, on Tuesday, I fished The Avenue and caught a 41lb 8oz mirror known as The Juggernaut.

“Two different venues and two different forties – happy days!”

Luke used pop-ups mounted on helicopter rigs made with Fox components during his first session, and then turned to chod rigs and a new bait from Mainline for his trip to The Avenue.

Graduation day at Korda Carp Academy

Thirty young carp fanatics graduated from this year’s Korda Carp Academy at Manor Farm in Bedfordshire.

The three-day course saw the likes of top anglers Ali Hamidi and Danny Fairbrass (pictured) team up with the youngsters to help smash their personal bests.

Korda boss Danny said: “The attitude of all the kids has been brilliant – the amount they’ve learnt has been fantastic and the instructors, as always, have given it their all 24 hours a day.”

Max Andrew, who banked three pbs from Damsel Lake under the tuition of Richard Stewart, said:

“I can’t wait to go fishing again and put all I’ve learnt into practice. All the instructors have been absolutely brilliant and I’ve had a great time – thank you.”

Yorkshire carp 'Black Scale' out at 50lb 6oz

Kev Rogerson added to his remarkable tally of Northern whackers with this 50lb 6oz mirror carp known as Black Scale.

The fish, which came from Eric’s Willows Lake, is the fourth fish over 40lb the Sunderland angler has had from Yorkshire this year.

“I’m having a good year,” said Kev. “This was a new personal best and my first fifty.”

Fitting in his sessions whenever he could, Kev fished two nights either side of a day at work. Having chosen a swim in the centre of the venue, he found three spots amid heavy weed and it was the closest one, at 40 yards, that produced the goods.

“On the first night I had a bit of an occurrence on my closer rod at about 3am, but nothing seemed to materialise and the line was still in the clip, so I left it.

“Next morning I was up for work at 6am and on reeling in my rods I found my close-in one had a different line angle.

“On retrieving I found it was in heavy weed and had no lead!

“Kicking myself, I put a bit of bait on the spots and headed to work, returning at 6pm. At about 7.45pm I had a drop-back on my close rod and lifted into a fish which was in heavy weed. After about five minutes of steady pressure I had it moving and, to be honest, at this point I thought it was a small one as it just came in steadily.

“It wasn’t until I had it near the bank that it got rid of the weed and suddenly it was a heavy plod and I realised it was a bit bigger than I thought!”

Kev, who also managed a small common, baited with S7 boilies from DNA Baits and presented the company’s Milky Malt pop-ups over the top on hinged stiff rigs.

Anglers Paradise record carp!

The Anglers Paradise complex in Devon has produced its first-ever 40lb common carp – a fish that has grown on from just 1lb.

The 40lb 8oz fish came from the Kracking Carp Lake and fell to Kieran Evans from South Wales. The 20-year-old, fishing on peg 3, said: “I was shaking with excitement as I was fighting it, just hoping I landed it.

“After I finally woke the old man up to give me a hand to land it, I finally got it in the net. We weighed it and it was a fin-perfect 40lb 8oz common. I was over the moon!

“I have been trying for more than four years to get one of the big girls out of Kracking and after all the effort I have put in I’ve finally done it and smashed my pb by a massive 14lb! I’m absolutely thrilled and still can’t believe it.”

Zenia, daughter of Anglers Paradise owner Zyg Gregorek, said: “We are all happy for Kieran and are even happier to celebrate our first-ever 40lb common being caught. We have brought these fish on from 1lb up to this, so naturally we are proud.”

Kieran presented a single grain of popped-up fake corn fished close to far-bank weed for his fish.

52lb 14oz common carp smashes Linear Fisheries record

The complex record at Linear Fisheries has been broken by Lyndsy Fisher with the capture of this 52lb 14oz common carp.

The Birmingham-based venue regular tempted the impressive specimen during a 48-hour session on the popular Oxfordshire day-ticket fishery’s 26-acre Oxlease Lake.

Fishing to the back of a weedbed at almost 50 yards, Lyndsy glued a ball of hemp to a maggot clip on a size 8 Korda Krank hook and a four-inch Korda N-Trap Soft hooklink and placed the whole rig inside a solid PVA bag filled with PVA-friendly hemp and maize.

She said: “I double wrapped my solid bags so they would take slightly longer to melt, then cast them two foot past the weed. Once it hit bottom I pulled it back until I could feel it touching the weed. The area was then baited with hemp, maize and chopped Solar Squid and Octopus boilies.”

Her accurate hookbait placement was soon rewarded with a fast take. “As soon as I saw it during the fight I knew exactly which fish I was attached to.

“I didn’t want to believe it was the big one, though, until I got it in the net! Once it was safely in the mesh I was buzzing!” she said.

Lyndsy is no stranger to catching big carp from the complex, her previous personal best being the highly sought-after Big Plated from neighbouring St Johns lake at 44lb 5oz.

She added: “I’d like to thank Linear Fisheries and all the bailiffs there for an amazing experience with a fish I’ll never forget.

“I’ve fished at Linear for eight years now and don’t think I would ever go anywhere else!”

Lyndsy has now become the second female angler to hold the fishery record after Avid’s Angie Lawley caught the same fish at a slightly lower weight of 52lb back in May this year.

Angie’s capture was the first time a carp from the complex had broken through the 50lb barrier.

Bluebell's Swan Lake produces two 50lb carp in just seven days

Underlining its reputation as one of the best day-ticket waters in the UK, Swan Lake at Bluebell threw up a different 50lb carp just days before Corey Moore’s 54lb carp.

Only 48 hours before that capture, Yorkshireman Gary Spence ended a varied session with the capture of Dave at 52lb 12oz. It followed a 50lb-plus catfish and was braced within minutes by a 30lb 10oz mirror.

The joiner, who turns 51 this week, told Angling Times: “It was only my second time down there this year. I was ecstatic to catch it – it smashed my pb of 35lb.”

Gary, who fished from Wednesday until Sunday at the Northants complex, baited with maize, hemp and Urban Bait Nutcracker boilies and found fish fizzing in his swim early each morning.

Having banked an 18lb mirror and the big catfish, the Leeds rod latched into Dave on Friday morning. “It was a really strange bite,” he said. “The bobbin dropped back and then went back up. As I was resetting the bobbin it pulled from my hands. I struck into it and felt a bit of head shaking – I thought it was a tench at first.

“When I got it a bit closer I realised it was no tench and in the margins it went ballistic! A good 15 minutes later I landed it and could see it was a chunk, but I didn’t click on to which fish it was until I saw it properly.”

Gary added: “I returned it, and just as I let go of the wrist of its tail my middle rod was away and I landed a 30lb 10oz mirror!”

Dave fell to a Nutcracker boilie tipped with fake corn mounted on a blowback rig made with a Fox hook, G-Force Blackout hooklink and a Taska tungsten line aligner.