50lb Wellington common best of three in 121lb total

Lewis Read has banked his second 50lb-plus common in a month as a midweek overnighter produced three fish for more than 121lb.

Fishing Berkshire’s Wellington Country Park, the Gardner employee caught the Chinese Common at exactly 50lb, a 44lb ghostie and a 27lb 8oz mirror – all before packing up and heading to work.

Having lost a “blooming behemoth of a fish” on the morning of another midweek overnighter, Lewis returned to the same spot after work the same day.

He said: “I checked the area I had fished and there were a few fish about, so I wrapped up for the same spots that I had baited the previous night and got the three rods in tight to the far margin, with just one chuck needed on each rod.

“I restricted baiting to 30 boilies per rod as I had put a fair bit in the night before and, thanks to minimal casting, I had a quick bite on the long rod that turned out to be a chunk of a 44lb ghostie.

“Luckily, some very excitable campers were walking past and they oooed and aaaahed as I held the fish up and ‘dad’ did a great job with the camera!

“A few hours later the short rod lit up, pulling the bobbin up tight – and I was on the locked-up rod walking back up the slope behind the swim and leading the fish away from the far-bank snags.

“I had a bit of a brutal battle with this one – it did the dirty and went round a bush to my left, but gentle teasing eventually drew her round and then she did a couple of hugely powerful runs across the bay. Good old 15lb GT-HD mainline did its job and it turned out to be the Chinese Common at exactly 50lb! Oh my days, that’ll do!”

Lewis added: “Just as I started packing up I lost a fish on the same rod – and as I reeled in the right-hander the middle rod pulled up tight and I cajoled a lovely 27lb 8oz mirror to the waiting net. 

“It was a bit of a hectic work night by Welly standards, but then again everywhere seems to be fishing well with the cooler longer nights that have become so noticeable all of a sudden.”