Rob Hales: “I’m growing more records”

Big Rig’s origins

The record carp was bought at a weight between 30lb and 39lb in 2011 from Fenland Fisheries, Cambridgeshire, whose boss Mike Hawes says that it was legally imported from Israel in 2009.

The carp, and three others of the Dor-70 strain, was purchased by Rob Hales and transported to his Shropshire HQ. To find out more visit: www.rhfisheries.com

For more on Fenland Fisheries, call 01487 841858.

Record weight

Big Rig was weighed on two sets of scales. One gives it a weight of 69lb 13oz, but Rob will make the 69lb 3oz record claim on readings from a set of 120lb Reuben Heaton Specimen Hunter scales.

Rob Hales is without doubt the most talked about UK fishery boss in the UK after his Shropshire venue The Avenue produced the 69lb 3oz British record carp. 

The fish, Big Rig, was hand reared by the RH Fisheries owner and specifically grown to become Britain’s biggest-ever carp...dividing opinion within the sport.

As the dust settles on one of the most controversial captures of recent times, Angling Times caught up with Rob to gain an insight into the world of big carp.

You bought Big Rig at 39lb as one of a hand-selected group of fish. Do you have any other carp from this batch in your lakes? 

When I bought Big Rig she was one of a group of fish that were all bigger than she was, with amazing potential to grow huge.
I bought those too. 

All my lakes contain fish-of-a-lifetime and I just keep adding to them, giving more anglers a shot at the fish of their dreams.

How big do you think carp can get in a UK water? 

I think Big Rig has the potential to reach 75lb… possibly more. 

But there’s no doubt that a quality strain of carp in the right environment could break the 80lb barrier. 

In my opinion that’s great for carp fishing in the country and the fishing industry as a whole.

You use state-of-the-art feeders set on timers to optimise the growth of carp at some of your waters. What does this cost?

I can spend up to £15,000 on feed for just one lake during the course of a year. 

This includes pellets and medicated boilies just before the winter which keep the fish in top condition throughout the colder months. 

I’ve put 100 kilos of these boilies into one of our lakes in the last week alone. This is what it takes.

What is your message to those people who say that purposely growing carp to break records is wrong?

People must think that all I do is buy big fish and force-feed them bait until they reach massive weights. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fish I buy and raise are from the highest quality strains. People don’t understand how much time, dedication and hard work it takes to grow so many huge carp. Anglers want to catch big fish and I meet this demand. 

Those who criticise this need to wake up, because it’s fisheries like mine that hold the future for the British carp record. 

Were you surprised by some of the negative reactions after the capture of Big Rig?

Not really. Sadly, it’s often the uneducated minority that tend to spout off and don’t realise the harm they can do. 

The national papers picked up on this and all the coverage did was to paint angling and anglers in a very bad light. 

Some of the comments that were aimed at the captor, Tom, were shocking and those responsible should be very ashamed of themselves. They should take up another sport.

Did you regret the way in which the record story played out?

The only thing I would have done differently was not to speak to the daily papers, because it ’s now clear that they didn’t want a good fishing story.

Instead they focused on all the negativity that came from small-minded and, in some cases, vicious individuals. 

At the end of the day a great guy caught the biggest carp in the country and it’s an achievement that should be celebrated, not denigrated.

Is the demand for catching big, commercially-stocked carp still on the rise?

The appetite among anglers for catching huge carp is just getting bigger and bigger. There’s no sign of this trend slowing down at all.

Have you and your team been inundated since the capture of Big Rig?

Put it this way, our website usually gets around 350 hits a day. Since Big Rig was caught we’ve had over 5,000 a day.

It’s crazy – the phone hasn’t stopped ringing and our email boxes have been filling up fast.

Now you’ve grown the biggest carp in the UK, what comes next for RH Fisheries?  

To continue to provide huge carp for UK anglers. It’s my passion. We now have thousands of Big Rig’s offspring that all have the potential to grow to massive proportions. 

Not only will I grow and nurture these fast-growing carp for my own waters, but I will sell them to other venues so they will have carp bearing the genes of this record-breaking carp.

‘Unknown’ mirror is the perfect tonic to lost big fish

Lewis Read continued his remarkable autumn run by banking this 49lb 4oz mirror from Wellington Country Park this week.

The impressive fish, which is bizarrely called the The Unknown, fell to a pop-up boilie presented over 1.5kg of freebies at 120 yards range and helped Gardner Tackle employee Lewis to forget about the loss of a big fish earlier in the day.

“To be honest, it was a really lucky cast. I was aiming to get my rig close to the overhanging branches of a tree on the end of an island, but it landed right under it – perfect!

“Once hooked, the fish gave a good, solid fight and I was blown away to nab another one of the lake’s big mirrors,” said Lewis. 

“It was the perfect tonic following the devastating loss of a big fish on Saturday morning after it kited into a snag.”

Just a day later Lewis then rounded off the weekend in fine style by banking a chunky 30lb 8oz common carp from Pit 4 at Frimley in Surrey. 

He said: “I was chuffed to bits with this one because I’ve been putting in a fair amount of effort at the venue in between my trips to Wellington Country Park.” 

Ten-fish for a 311lb haul from Horton’s Kingsmead One

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!” 

A ‘maizing’ quick hit at Farriers

Two bites in two hours on particles saw Duncan Arrandale bank two thirties in quick succession.

The 42-year-old Wychwood and Richworth consultant found the fish in the mood for maize at his favourite Farriers Lake in Gloucestershire.

He bagged a 39lb 12oz common, typical of the specimens found in the Carp Society-controlled venue, and a 32lb 4oz mirror.

The Evesham angler fed about half-a-kilo of the yellow grains and presented three pieces on his rigs.

He said: “I had seen fish bubbling close in and managed to locate a small, hard, clear spot amid the weed nearby. 

“I baited fairly heavily, making sure the carp were aware that there was some easy food near where they’d been grubbing about in the weed, and to account for nuisance fish eating some of it. 

“I had two bites in two hours the following morning and then the spot died a death, with the fish seeming to push further out into the lake.”

Amazing week with two 90lb carp from Europe

Scott Phillips has joined an exclusive club of anglers to have landed 90lb carp from two countries after a phenomenal session at Euro Aqua in Hungary.

The Midlands angler travelled to the record-breaking water and banked a double, a twenty, a thirty, a forty, a fifty, a sixty, a seventy, an eighty and a 92lb 2oz mirror in a single week.

Scott, who banked the Scar Fish at Les Graviers in France at 99lb two years ago, also snared a catfish estimated at over 130lb.

“A dream session or what?!” he said. “Hopefully one day I will be lucky enough to complete the full set and land a 100lb carp.”

Scott’s second-biggest fish of the session was an 84lb 4oz mirror on the final night, while his third-biggest resulted from his first bite of the week and weighed 74lb 4oz.

The 92-pounder came as part of an incredible double take that also produced a comparatively small fish of 50lb 8oz.

“I got into my bed around 10pm and was nearly asleep when all of a sudden the left-hand rod burst into life,” recalled Scott. 

“I was on it straight away and knew that I had another big fish on. Taking my time and playing it quite softly, I had gained about 20 yards on it when my right-hand rod started to scream off.

“Now, with a rod in each hand, I was shouting to my mate Chris, but he was fast asleep. 

“The second fish didn’t feel as big as the other one I was playing, so I put it back on the rest with the drag just loose enough to stop it pulling the rod in, and concentrated on the other fish.

“The fight lasted around 20 minutes in total and as soon as I saw it coming towards the net
I knew it was a big fish but didn’t have time to look at it properly because I had the other rod to sort out.

Scott added: “It wasn’t until we lifted it out of the water and on to the mat that I realised just how big it was!”

New British carp record at 69lb 13oz

“How I grew the record carp”

From 39lb to 69lb 13oz in three years – here’s the story of how RH Fisheries boss Rob Hales created the UK’s biggest carp

Timeline of ‘Big Rig’ 

2013 Brought in at 39lb and introduced into one of Rob’s growing-on reservoirs, where carefully selected carp are fed a diet of pellets to maximise growth potential. A custom-made, floating feeder introduces these on a timer.
2014 Big Rig attains a weight of 42lb and remains in the reservoir fed on a diet of pellets.
2015 The fish remains in the reservoir for another year, reaching an unrecorded weight
2016 The fish is moved to Rob Hales’ own fish farm where it’s used in a spawning programme to provide future generations of fast-growing carp.
2016 March Following a daily diet of two kilos of boilies and two large scoops of pellets every morning, all hand-fed by Rob, Big Rig reaches a weight of 58lb... and that’s after spawning.
2016  September Big Rig sends shockwaves through the angling world when she sets a new British carp record at 69lb 13oz, caught from The Avenue.
Future Rob is adamant that Big Rig has plenty more growing potential, and her offspring are now being nurtured to provide thousands more fast-growing carp for Rob’s own and other waters. 

This is the picture of the colossal 69lb 13oz carp that smashes the current British record.

The fish, known as Big Rig, was banked by Essex rod Tom Doherty just a few hours after he’d cast out into the Avenue Fishery in Shropshire, and it succeeds the current British best that stands at 68lb 1oz, caught by Dean Fletcher in January this year.

Fishing a Mainline Baits prototype boilie from a swim called Pete’s Point, the 33-year-old not only smashed his personal best of 44lb, but came agonisingly close to breaking the 70lb barrier. 

He did it with a rig constructed from rig components made by PB Products.

“It was only my second time on the fishery and now I’ve caught this giant. It still hasn’t sunk in,” Tom told Angling Times.

“Rob was with me when I was playing the fish, and the fact that we knew it was Big Rig made the fight the most tense that I’ve ever experienced.

“The sight of those huge shoulders coming over the net is something I will never forget. It’s the biggest fish I’ve ever seen.”

The other side to the incredible story is that of Avenue owner and boss of RH Fisheries, Rob Hales.

Ever since he began making UK anglers’ big-fish dreams come true at venues that regularly produce fish over 50lb, he’s been adamant that he would ‘grow’ a British record carp.

And the fruits of his labours have come in the form of the incredible Big Rig – a fish that has benefited from being reared in a reservoir fitted with floating automatic feeding systems. Rob also hand-fed the giant with boilies and pellets at his state-of-the-art fish farm to make his record-breaking bid a reality.

“Myself and everyone at RH Fisheries would like to congratulate Tom on his amazing capture,” said Rob. 

“I always knew that it was possible to grow a British record carp, so it was never a case of ‘if’, but ‘when’.

“This fish was in the fish farm earlier this year, and I’d feed her two kilos of boilies and a couple of big scoops of pellets every morning – but I’m blown away by the fact that she weighed in at 58lb back in March and now she’s fast approaching 70lb.

“There are many out there who criticise what I do, but I don’t care because most of these people don’t know the time, dedication, commitment and passion it takes to rear these fish and grow them on to reach the weights they do.

“I challenge them to come to my facilities and see what it takes, and they might change their minds.

“Anglers used to have to pay lots of money and travel to France in order to catch fish like this, but now you can catch them here in the UK. 

“That’s great for our sport and the angling industry as a whole. More and more anglers want to catch carp, the bigger the better. That’s a fact.”

Rob is now nurturing thousands of Big Rig’s offspring, some of which he intends to grow on and stock into his own day-ticket fisheries. Others will be sold to carp fisheries across the UK.

“Growing big fish is very unpredictable, but to get stock from an incredible specimen like this is very exciting,” said Rob.

“Who knows how big she will grow in the future? The same goes for her offspring.”

• The fish was weighed on two sets of scales, and has been verified at 69lb 13oz. A record claim is being submitted.

Emotional personal best carp weighs 53lb 8oz

Craig McEvoy’s storming 2016 has continued with an emotional session at the Avenue.

Back in May, the Black Country carper landed five forties and three thirties in the same session at Acton Burnell, but his lastest trip to an RH Fisheries venue produced a new UK personal best.

In 48 hours at the Shropshire syndicate water, Craig caught a 53lb 8oz mirror plus three others of 35lb 8oz, 32lb 4oz and 27lb before packing up to go to a family funeral.

“I had to pack up for midday on the final morning as I had my uncle’s funeral to attend,” said Craig. “I had three fish on the final morning, which included the fifty that I caught in the final hour of the session.

“It sure was an emotional day.”

Craig fed a total of 4kg of Mainline Cell boilies and fished matching hookbaits on size 8 Korda Kurv Shank hooks tied to 15lb Korda IQ2 fluorocarbon.

222lb Siamese carp!

This incredible picture shows one of the world’s biggest Siamese carp – snared on the Method feeder.

It was caught by Tim Webb, the owner of the award-winning Palm Tree Lagoon in Thailand. 

The specimen weighed 222lb and smashed his previous best for the species of 180lb.

He was battling the fish for an hour-and-a-halfbefore it was brought under control with a 50lb braided hooklink and a size 1 hook. “This is, by far, the biggest Siamese carp I’ve ever heard of, let alone seen,” Tim told Angling Times.

“I caught it from an undisclosed stillwater, but I bought the fish and in the photo I am about to stock it into Palm Tree Lagoon. Now anyone can come and try to catch this enormous specimen,” he added.

To find out about Palm Tree Lagoon visit: www.palmtreelagoon.co.uk

Lucky peg 13 brings Welsh forty

Welsh day-ticket water has produced its first 40-pounder in more than two years.

The 40lb 1oz mirror was caught by Shropshire angler Nick Burrage on only his second visit to White Springs, near Swansea.

Fishing with friend Mick Stacey on the Specimen Lake, Nick settled into swim 13, the only peg available when he made the booking a month earlier.

“It was very warm and sunny as we set up, but I like to get my rods out first to make use of every minute on the bank,” said Nick. 

“Within two hours of the rods being out, the one over on the nearby island let out a beep, and with the line lifting in the rings slightly I felt it and drew it back a foot at a time. Without being able to feel the lead at any point, I lifted the rod and was left reeling in lots of slack – until I reached the fish that was swimming towards me!

“By the time I was bent into the fish, it had powered through two of Mike’s lines and we quickly took the bail-arms off to stop the fish using the tight lines like a disgorger to unhook itself. 

“A close-in battle with rolls and boils at my feet continued for
10 minutes, showing her power and fitness. Then, soon enough, she popped up and after one last roll she found my net. 

“The guy came round from next door to see and the scales swung round to 40lb 1oz. We all checked and checked again. The capture became a talking point around the lake and on the internet – I suppose not everyone will be happy about a Shropshire lad catching this fish!

“The lake owner came down, and he’s a great guy. He was telling me about the restocking, so it’s well worth a visit if you’re in that neck of the woods.”

Second 50lb carp of 2016

A best man is there to support the groom through his big day – and that’s just what Phil Horton did as his mate Carl Sharp banked his second fifty of 2016.

Carl had booked Meadows Lake at Holme Fen in Cambridgeshire for a week-long stag do with a group of friends and hooked into this 52lb 7oz mirror five minutes after Phil arrived in his swim. 

“He wasn’t supposed to get there until later that evening,” said West Midlander Carl, “but he managed to leave work early and I met him at the gate just as I was coming back from the shops.

“I was in the Party Point swim, so I told him to double up in there with me. I’d just cast my first rod back out and was wrapping up the second one when I got the bite.”

The Willenhall Angling Direct shop manager, who gets married in Greece later this year, also managed a 46lb 7oz mirror on the penultimate morning of the week-long session.

After a slow start, Carl’s fifty arrived on the fourth day after resting one of his spots.

“There’s a small clear channel at 70 yards down the centre of the lake, which I baited and fished over to begin with, but on the second day I saw fish showing at range and put all three rods on single hookbaits at about 130 yards,” said Carl, who banked a 54lb Rosemere mirror in April.

After keeping his rods at range, the 32-year-old added a bit more bait to the shorter spot but did not fish there until just before his bite. 

He said: “I put a single hookbait on the spot after coming back from having a shower and popping to the shops, and it was away before I could get the second rod in.”

Best man Phil was rewarded for bringing a dose of good luck by catching his own forty, at 43lb 12oz, the next day. 

Fellow stag-party member Lee Rolfe also caught a personal best of 45lb 2oz.

“It’s just off the scale,” said Carl of the average size of fish. “You can go to France and still have to wade through twenties, so for us to have four fish over 40lb is incredible.”

September heatwave promises a bonanza of personal bests

Fisheries across the UK have hit their best form of the year for big carp, following some of the hottest September temperatures since records began.

Traditionally, this time of year is deemed by some of the sport’s biggest names as the best for beating carp personal bests as the nights draw in and fish go on the feed in readiness for winter.

It’s a theory that’s being proved at some of the top big-carp waters. In addition, commercial fisheries that hold larger carp are also reporting a huge increase in the capture of high double-figure fish, with specimens reaching 20lb.

Now, with record-breaking temperatures bringing warm water conditions, experts and fishery owners are saying there’s never been a better time for anglers to get down to their local carp venue and reap the rewards.

“It’s the best time of the year to target big carp and you’d be foolish not to be out there, especially with the recent high temperatures,” said Andrew Ellis, owner of AE Fisheries

“Some very high-profile carp anglers are all saying that this is the best chance of a monster.

“The only thing on a carp’s mind at this time of the year is feeding up ready for the winter and building up its stores of fat. 

“I feed my carp more now than at any other time of year. This feeding behaviour is being mirrored at thousands of fisheries across the country.”

Iain Macmillan with a fine late summer common.

Respected Shimano-backed carper Iain Macmillan echoed Andrew’s sentiments: “There are often more big carp caught between now and Christmas than at any other time of the year.

“There’s every reason to get really excited as this is the time when it’s not just about catching the really huge fish, but also big hits are on the cards.”

It’s not just day-ticket venues such as Oxfordshire’s Linear Fisheries and Staffordshire’s Baden Hall that have continued their incredible summer form for big fish. 

‘Runs’ waters like Northamptonshire’s Drayton Reservoir, Stafford Moor in Devon and Barston Lakes in the West Midlands are also in top fettle.

“There are loads of big doubles coming out at the moment, as a recent match was won with many carp between 16lb and 20lb,” said Barston Lakes boss Nigel Harrhy.

“Guys who just come here for runs are regularly upping their personal bests, and this time of the year is always spot-on for the bigger fish to switch on to the feed,” he added.

Big fish decide 2016 Carp Cup winners

The big fish came out to play for the final of this year’s British Carp Cup at Branston Water Park in Staffordshire.

Three thirties were caught and two anglers broke their personal bests in the 48-hour event, which pits the winners of the Northern, Southern and Midlands Carp Cups against each other.

The title was won by experienced pair Callum Gutteridge and Karl Palmer, who landed five fish for 107lb 3oz.

Ashley Izzard and Darren Pearse came second with two fish for 56lb 14oz, including a 32lb 9oz mirror for Darren. 

Paul Butler and Kevin Durling, who stormed into an early lead, came third with three fish for 52lb 2oz.

All the fish came during daylight hours, including a 32lb 14oz common to Ricky Dummer, fishing with his brother Billy. In all, 17 carp were caught at the 29-acre gravel pit at an average of over 18lb.

This year’s team event was won at a canter by DNA Baits, who had three pairs in the final.

Captor’s five-year-old witnesses a 41lb 8oz common

A week of overnight sessions for James Winters was crowned by a very special moment with his daughter.

This 41lb 8oz common was the pick of a string of fish, and was witnessed by five-year-old Hattie.

In a hectic week that saw James fish four separate overnighters at the Carp Society’s Farriers Lake in Gloucestershire, he banked two doubles, three twenties to 29lb and a 36lb common, plus the forty.

It was the final session of the week that produced the biggest fish. Said James: “I was due to go on holiday on the Thursday so on the Tuesday I decided on one last quick overnighter. This time, though, I took my five-year-old daughter Hattie along. 

“We arrived at the lake at around 5pm and I knew getting back in the peg I was in before would be unlikely. It can be busy, especially if it’s done a few fish.

“Unsurprisingly, the peg was taken so we went just around the corner so I could get fairly close to the area I’d fished at the weekend.

“It was building up to a full moon and there were a few fish about, so I gave them a bit more bait than usual – around half-a-kilo of Sticky Manilla boilies per rod.”

After a fitful night’s sleep interrupted by tench and line bites, James eventually got a carp bite as dawn broke.

“It wasn’t much of a fight,” he said. “It did pick up my other line but within a few minutes it was in the net. 

“With no sleep I was absolutely hanging, and Hattie had slept through the lot, but to have to wake her to share the moment of catching a forty made it all very special indeed.”

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.”

41lb 9oz Holme Fen mirror carp before GCSEs kick in

Schoolboy Oli Cooper used his last summer holiday before starting GCSEs to knuckle down and find a new personal best.

Having searched for a suitable venue, the 15-year-old settled on Meadows Lake at Holme Fen in Cambridgeshire, and was rewarded for his hard work with a 41lb 9oz mirror.

The teenager told Angling Times: “I had six weeks off so I decided I should do something special before I needed to start working really hard for my GCSEs.”

Pouncing on a cancellation at the booking-only venue, Oli arrived midweek for a 48-hour stay and despite coming last in the draw for swims managed to secure Party Point, the peg he wanted.

After finding a couple of spots in the weed, Oli baited heavily with pellets, crushed boilies, corn and whole boilies. 

“I wasn’t feeling too confident,” he said. “I had only seen one good fish jump which, although it was on my spot, was much earlier on in the day, and I hadn’t had any liners or anything in hours.

“The lake hadn’t produced a fish that week so I knew it would be hard, but I ate my dinner, set my alarm for just before light and went to sleep.”

After waking to thick mist, Oli got out of his bivvy at 6am as visibility improved.

“After watching the slick off my spots for an hour-and-a-half I sat on the grass verge thinking ‘if I get a bite now, how will I get to my rods?’. And, as I was thinking that, I had a single bleep – it screamed off and straight away I knew I was into a very good fish.”

The fish ploughed through a succession of weedbeds, but eventually Oli led it into the margins and, though a crowd had gathered, he opted to net it himself. He said: “The shoulders on her were the thickest I have ever seen!”

The following morning Oli banked a 26lb mirror to round off a memorable session.

Horton forties fall at distance and in margins

Island Lake on the historic Horton complex provided Dan Leney with two of its prized residents to very different tactics.

“I had two forties in two weeks – what a buzz!” said Dan, who banked a 45lb 12oz mirror at long range, then a 40lb 6oz mirror in the margins.

The first and bigger of the fish came during a three-day session. “I had been prepping some spots from the boat at 120 yards,” said Dan. “The fish were on clearings of silt amid huge weedbeds.” 

“The rod ripped off at 1pm on day two and I latched into the huge-framed Two Tone mirror, which came in at 45lb 12oz.
I had three bites that day, taking another 25lb common and losing one in the weed.

“I returned two weeks later but this time I chose to fish just 10 yards from the bank in much, much shallower water. The sun was beating down and the temperatures were far warmer, so I targeted the 5ft area. 

“On the first morning I managed two takes, one from a 23lb mirror and another from the huge 40lb 6oz mirror.”

58lb 2oz Wood Carving Common out after year’s absence

It’s a well-worn saying in angling that effort equals reward, but this addition to Adam Matthews’ photo album is proof of just that.

The Wood Carving Common, an incredibly long fish of 58lb 2oz, had not been caught for almost a year at Kevin Nash’s Copse Lake until the Kent angler put in a Herculean shift to avoid a blank.

Taking advantage of the venue’s new open-access policy, Adam booked a five-day session and initially opted to fish the neighbouring Church Lake before switching to the Copse on day three.

“All week I’d been lapping it every so often and leaving some small areas of bait where I thought they might feed,” said the YouTube tech blogger.

“However, they all remained untouched so it was now going to be a stalking effort – trying to find one and catch it on the move.”

Adam found one fish, estimated at 45lb, and tried to tempt it with freelined maggots and bread to no avail. The following day the same fish did oblige but it tore off through some lilies and snapped the line.

“It was a real low after so much hard work,” said the 38-year-old, “I’d probably made over 200 casts of the freelined bait. I went and sulked.” 

Having regained his composure, Adam, who estimates he walked around the lake 200 times, opted for a different approach and presented a maggot rig on a clay spot close to an island.

“Thirty minutes later the receiver went off and I ran around the lake and picked up the rod, only to see that the fish was weeded up no more than 15ft in front of me. I could see it. As a lover of the common carp over the mirror I knew immediately that it was the one I wanted the most. 

“After a small fight getting it out of the weed my friend Neil came running round, leapt into the water and netted it. My heart was absolutely thumping like never before and the adrenaline was flowing. 

“It came up just shy of 60lb, and while everyone seemed slightly disappointed it didn’t hit the magical 60 I sat there just staring at this whale of a fish, so long that it didn’t even fully fit in the 1m 20cm monster cradle that sits in every swim. 

“This was the catch of a lifetime. Being in such a special place just made it even better.”

Rub the carp god for luck!

A granite carp god weighing 3.5 tonnes has already smiled on one angler after taking up residence at a popular venue.

The imposing statue, modelled on the famous Easter Island heads, was levered into position with help from bricklayer Carl Baxter, who then got his rods out and banked two fish for 87lb, including a 50lb 6oz common.

The 8ft-tall good-luck charm was placed on the dam wall at Fryerning Fisheries’ Main Lake in Essex by owner Chris Knowles, who believes anglers shouldn’t take themselves too seriously.

“As anglers we are always praying to the carp god,” he told Angling Times, “and if we don’t, we’re in trouble!”

Chris said the head, which cost £3,500 and took three months to create, reflects his outlook on fishing and life.

He said: “A mate of mine designed it and I got him to put a couple of scars in the back which anglers can rub for good luck as they go past.

“I honestly believe that if you go fishing with a positive attitude, then nine times out of 10 you will do well. I’d been in this game for 33 years when I dug the lake and this is just one of those silly things you do. It’s a bit of fun – I think people take life too seriously sometimes.”  

One of the carp god’s first duties was to look on as Carl Baxter, who had helped position the statue, caught Mommon at 50lb 6oz and then an elusive and old mirror known as Riddler at 36lb 12oz.

The 42-year-old from Ipswich in Suffolk said: “It’s my second UK fifty and a fish I dearly wanted after fishing the venue for 18 years. I fed heavily every night, only fishing the spot at night after resting it. 

“87lb of fish in two casts – wow!”

Over the course of his 72-hour session, Carl fed 8kg of Activ8 in mixed sizes with a throwing stick and fished matching pop-ups on chod rigs to a silt patch next to a lilybed on the far-bank margins 100 yards away. 

“It’s my first time using Mainline for several years after using other baits, and forgotten favourite Activ8 did me proud,” added Carl, who is also known by the nickname Bertie.

Venue boss Chris told Angling Times another lump of granite is waiting to be chiselled into a skull which may be placed on neighbouring Valley Lakes.

Island hotspot brings Greg a day-ticket best

Casting tight to an island at a popular day-ticket venue gave Greg Wildon a new personal best in the shape of this turbo-charged mirror.

The 39lb 6oz mirror came during a 72-hour session at Kent’s Elphicks Fishery, which included a double, a 26lb 4oz common and an 11lb catfish. 

“I’d seen a lot of big fish by the edge of the island,” said the Colchester, Essex, angler, “so I managed to get a bait about 2ft from the edge of the island. After about an hour, the fish took off at an amazing speed.

“Eventually, after a brilliant fight, it made it to the net – a truly magnificent specimen.” 

Greg, who regularly catapulted boilies over his spot at 40 yards, added: “This was a new personal best and it certainly made my day.”

Well-known lump and long-lost mirror hit the bank

It’s been a tale of two fifties at a northern day-ticket water in recent weeks.

Hitting the bank at Eric’s Willows Lake, in West Yorkshire, were two very different creatures – one camera-shy, the other less so.

Three Scale, weighing 52lb 10oz, came out for the third time in quick succession to Brian Latham during a week-long session. 

“This fish has seen the bank quite often of late,” said Brian, who also had a 29lb 15oz mirror and a 20-pounder, “but it’s in great condition and gaining weight after a good spawn.”

The other fifty to be caught at Willows recently has been much more cautious – incredibly going uncaught for more than five years when it weighed 40lb 6oz!

Venue regular Danny Johannessen netted the fish during an overnighter in peg 1 and immediately realised it was one he didn’t recognise.

Danny, who fished a single Mainline Banofee pop-up on a Ronnie rig, alerted fishery boss Tom Broomhead and handed him the camera. 

Danny said: “We weighed the fish at 53lb 12oz and retained it in deep water near the outflow while we waited an hour for sunrise to get the shots by the lily bed. We were like kids on Christmas Eve, but still didn’t recognise it!”

Tom, who searched all the catch reports he had collected in three years of running the lake, said: “I contacted the remaining syndicate members for guidance and learned that as far as I am aware the fish was last landed at 40lb 6oz on April 7, 2011, by Kevin Rogerson and was regarded as the Original Scar Fish. We then suffered the floods in 2012 and it hadn’t been seen since.”

The capture takes the number of fifties in Willows to six. 

“Absolutely epic,” said Tom, “a truly heartwarming moment to weigh in and do the honours with the camera.”