Ten-fish for a 311lb haul from Horton’s Kingsmead One
James with the 44lb 2oz mirror called Moony.
Making time to look for fish before setting up is rarely time wasted, as James Butcher proved when he took a mammoth haul of 10 big carp during an action-packed session.
The Finchley, East London rod banked six twenties, three thirties and a cracking 44lb 2oz mirror from RK Leisure’s Horton 30-acre Kingsmead One lake in Berkshire. He targeted an area where, on arrival, he’d found a number of fish lying up in the weed.
He said: “I chose a swim called The Bream, which was the closest one to where the fish were holding up in the weedbed under the bridge at the eastern end of the lake. I then put approximately 4kg of boilies out to try to intercept them as they moved in and out of the area.”
After kicking things off with a 34lb 4oz common on his first day, shortly after first light the following morning James banked a 37lb 14oz mirror known as the Mug Sutton.
The action then continued steadily from that point on, with a further six twenties and a 32lb 2oz common, before on the last day of the session, the cherry on the cake arrived in the form of a big mirror known as Moony weighing in at 44lb 2oz.
“The weather was very warm and overcast, and when the wind got up a little I tended to get a bite or two,” said James.
“However, I had nothing at all during the hours of darkness – I think the fish moved out of the weedbed as the sun set late in the evening, before moving back into the area at dawn.
“After each fish I put around a kilo of bait out, and the more I put out, the more runs I had. I lost a couple of fish due to hook-pulls in the weed, but there’s no way I’m complaining – I was buzzing after a session like that!”