Stott’s second fifty in three weeks, and loads more lumps

Ian Stott banked his second fifty in three weeks as part of an incredible haul at Wellington Country Park.
Returning to the venue that produced his pb of 56lb 4oz less than a month earlier, Ian landed a 51lb 10oz mirror, a 46lb 12oz mirror, a 43lb 8oz ghostie, two 41-pounders and a 33lb 8oz mirror.
“It just seems so surreal that I had gone over six years trying to catch a 50lb carp then, in a matter of three weeks, I had managed to land two of them,” said the St Neots angler, who was joined at the Berkshire venue by wife Sam and friend Lianne Bullard.
“I don’t think I have ever laughed so much on any session as I did that one,” added Ian. “I had had some absolutely fantastic company and probably just had the session of a lifetime.”
Setting up in the Hole in the Bush swim after seeing fish show close to an island, Ian’s first run came at 1.30pm on the second day and produced a 41lb 10oz mirror after a fraught long-range battle. A 33lb 8oz mirror followed on the same rod an hour later and then, at 10pm, the big mirror known as Shoulders made an appearance.
“As it tore off, the power and weight of that carp left me shaking and it took a minute or so before the carp slowed down. I just kept the rod down in the water and continued pumping it back towards me. There was a little while during the fight when it powered off down my left margin and with the powerful rods I was using I was loath to put too much pressure on the fish, but I was left with no choice!” he said.
“The carp seemed to come to a sudden stop before turning and coming back towards me, and after some short heavy dashes in the margins it was a massive relief to slip the net under a proper-looking unit.”
Between the following afternoon and 6am the next morning, Ian received an incredible seven takes, landing three – another 41lb 10oz mirror, a 43lb 8oz ghostie common and a 46lb 12oz mirror.
Ian fished snowman rigs using size 4 Gardner Covert Mugga hooks and 25lb Trick-Link on two rods, and a pop-up rig using the same hook pattern on his third.