Five forties and two fifties for bailiff who works in France

Dave Smedley was celebrating this week after taking one of the biggest hauls of day-ticket carp in history.

The 48-year-old, who works as a bailiff at French venue Dream Lakes, came back to home shores to spend a week on Meadow Lake, at Holme Fen Fishery in Cambridgeshire, and marked his return by taking a staggering hit of fish that included mirrors weighing 40lb 2oz, 40lb 15oz,
44lb 4oz, 47lb 14oz, 48lb 12oz, 53lb 8oz and 54lb 14oz.

All seven of the huge fish, plus a brace of twenties and thirties, came from a 12ft-deep area at 110 yards range, and fell to Mainline Salty Squid wafter boilies presented over a bed of new Mainline boilies that Dave was field testing for the company.

The secret to Dave’s haul was to keep things simple and to try to avoid making much disturbance – as he explained.

“There were quite a few marker and spod rods being used by the other anglers on the lake, and I’ve always found that at this time of the year, when the fish are less active, they won’t put up with that sort of disturbance. 

“The bailiff had told me about a clean area out in front of the swim I was fishing, so I simply attached a bare lead to my spod rod, cast it out, and it went down with a crack. ‘That’ll do for starters’ I thought, and I never moved my three rods from the spot all week!”

Dave kicked things off with a 35lb 8oz fish, with his next three carp out being the 48, the 53 and the 54. He caught regularly over the next few days, and capped the haul off with a 44-pounder on the last morning of his stay.

“All the fish scrapped like mad – I couldn’t believe how hard they fought. I was totally blown away by the session. What an amazing venue!” he added.

Charity auction winner beats the freeze with Alan Blair

This trio of winter carp is proof that one good deed deserves another.

Matthew Howard donated “a huge amount of money” to charity to win a 24-hour session with Nash’s Alan Blair and their day together turned into an ice-dodging adventure.

The pair fished lakes, a canal and a tidal river in that time – with only the running water escaping the freeze up!

Alan told Angling Times: “It was a mega adventure and a great result for freezing conditions.”

Matthew was with Alan after donating to Lucy’s Bowl in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind, and the 24-hour Essex adventure began at a stillwater.

Said Alan: “What with it being winter and freezing cold, rather than sit it out on one water I took him on a bit of an adventure – to keep us warm! – that saw us fishing a gravel pit, canal and tidal river!

“Matt’s first fish was a lovely common from Chigboro Fisheries just before the entire lake froze over!”

The duo then moved to a canal, but that also froze up, so they headed for running water and Matt was rewarded with two fish at once.

“The brace was actually a double take from the tidal river as both the lakes and canal froze up,” said Alan. “I think Matt was surprised enough when the first rod went, but to have a second take literally as the first fish went in the net was epic!

“We then looked at another tidal river but the tide was all wrong now and there was too much saltwater backed up. We finally looked at a park lake but that was completely frozen solid.”

Matt fished Nash Citruz pop-ups on chods and multi rigs made with Nash Chod Twister hooks.

Britain's biggest carp denied official record

Britain’s largest carp will not be ratified as an official record because it is a “cultivated fish”.

That is the ruling of the British Record Fish Committee after the mirror known as Big Rig was caught at 69lb 3oz by Tom Doherty at the Avenue in Shropshire.

“It’s a very uneducated decision”

— Rob Hales, Avenue boss

The committee decided the fish had been “grown under an artificial feeding regime close to a weight close to or exceeding the existing species record”. It has subsequently been caught at 71lb 4oz and that weight will not take the record either.

Avenue boss Rob Hales told Angling Times this morning it is a “very uneducated decision”.

He said: “It’s very predictable and I’m not at all surprised. I think that they (BRFC) don’t fully understand the carp-fishing/fishery/growing-fish business. It’s a very uneducated decision. All big carp in this country and elsewhere only get to those weights because they eat high-protein boilies.

“I gather they (BRFC) say it wouldn’t have reached this weight in the natural environment – but the fish is a fish, not a robot.”

BRFC chairman Mike Heylin told Angling Times the fish may still be able to break the record in future.

He said: “I don’t think it’s ruled out forever. If it came out at 85lb and had put on a significant weight in the fishery itself – assuming the fishery isn’t being regularly fed huge amounts of bait – I don’t see why we would be necessarily excluding it forever.”

Rob Hales said: “That’s very interesting. I actually think Big Rig will make 85lb, so it’s a challenge I’m willing to accept. I feed my fish to stop them getting hungry, you can’t force food down their throats.

“In my opinion, whilst it was a predictable decision, I think they’re only delaying the inevitable.”

Mike Heylin confirmed the carp record still exists and would not be split into cultivated and un-cultivated lists. He added: “I’m happy with the outcome, happy we did all we could to look at all the evidence to see if it could be accepted under our terms of reference.

“It’s an awesome piece of fishing, Tom must be over the moon to catch it – I know I would be.”

New strain of hard-fighting ‘super carp’

Britain’s anglers are filling their nets with a new strain of ‘super carp’. 

These F1 ghosts are being described as ‘the commercial fish of the future’ following the first introductions of the hardy hybrids over recent months. 

The strain has been developed to feed willingly even in the coldest conditions and is immune to Koi Herpes Virus (KHV). It’s the ghost carp element that makes it distinctive – and it fights harder than the original F1.

Commercials that have already shared more than 10 tonnes of F1 ghosts include Gold Valley Lakes in Hampshire, Tunnel Barn Farm in Warwickshire, Staffordshire’s Heronbrook Fishery and Bradshaw Hall in Lancashire.

“When we stocked the fish there was more than 700lb caught in a match the very next day,” said Bradshaw’s Luke Worthington.

“Anglers love them because they look more individual than original F1s and fight really hard. We have more on order for next year.”

This is just the first phase of stockings across the UK that will continue until March 2017.

Babylon Fish Farm owner Jason Dorkings, who was involved in the creation of the original F1 carp, has been working on this latest project for over four years at his Kent facility. 

He says there is such demand for the F1 ghosts that there’s now a waiting list for venues that want to stock them.

“These fish have surpassed all my expectations and the feedback has been tremendous. I can’t produce them fast enough to meet demand,” he said.

“We’ve stocked fish from 6ins up to 2lb and they are stunning to look at. I really can’t wait to see how big they can grow.”

Tunnel Barn Farm in the Midlands is another venue where anglers have been singing the praises ofthe new strain, and boss Tony McGuire said: “Anglers have been over the moon with this fish, which has already featured in our winter league matches.

“Their willingness to feed in the colder conditions seems to have encouraged other species to have a proper go as well.

“Pleasure anglers love the look of the F1 ghost as well. But remember to fine down your rigs to catch them through the winter.”

Battling flu... and a near-60

A morning he will never, ever forget is how TJ Elliott described catching this giant 59lb 12oz mirror – despite coming down with flu during his session.

The fish, known as Single Scale, came during a midweek trip to a large southern club water. Having found a likely looking spot a few weeks earlier, TJ continued to fish the same swim each week and baited heavily with CC Moore Live System boilies each time.

“It soon became clear that my spots were getting cleaner and cleaner,” he said.

On this occasion, TJ got in the swim on Wednesday morning but after baiting up his illness kicked in. 

“At around 4pm I had only managed to put one of the rods out to the spots and then decided to have a little sleep as my flu continued to progress.”

After eventually getting his other two rods out before nightfall, TJ returned to bed but was woken at 4.30am to a single beep “followed by my clutch going into absolute overdrive”.

“The fight was very straightforward, just 15 minutes of very heavy lunges and slow plodding. 

“When she came up for the net, I knew it was her! I scooped the net under what can only be described as a baby whale and as she passed over the cord I let out a massive ‘YES!’. It was definitely a morning I will never, ever forget.”

TJ fished snowman rigs with Live System and CC Moore Dairy Supreme boilies on fluorocarbon D rigs.

51lb mirror banked on only bite of trip

Liam cradles his 51lb mirror, which fell to a pop-up.

Liam McGoldrick had only one bite during a weekend session on Wellington Country Park – but he wasn’t complaining when it resulted in a superb 51lb mirror. 

Arriving at the venue in the dark, the 32-year-old baited up and cast out. The following morning he noticed fish feeding further down the bank, but rather than recast and risk spooking them, Liam left his baits in position in the hope that the fish would move out of the area and towards his swim.

That proved to be a wise move by the senior contracts manager from Kent. 

He said: “The bite came at around 10pm and it was just a single bleep, followed by the line pinging out of the clip. 

“I was on the rod straight away, and the fight was immense – the fish was extremely angry and did not want to give up!”

Liam used a Mainline Cell pop-up over a spread of bottom baits and presented it on a Ronnie rig made using a size 4 Gardner Tackle Mugga hook and a safety lead clip system from the same company. 

Two fifties in Holme Fen catch boosted by three thirties

Steve Wright banked one of the biggest carp braces in history with mirrors of 57lb 1oz and 52lb 14oz from Meadows Lake at Holme Fen in Cambridgeshire.

The 35-year-old also had carp of 38lb 2oz and 37lb 6oz for a four-fish average of over 46lb, before nipping next door to Poachers Pool and banking a 33-pounder! 

“Put it this way,” the Stockport carper told Angling Times with a chuckle. “I’d caught three thirties in my entire fishing life before this trip, and now I’ve had two fifties and four thirties in the same session.”

Steve was among a group of nine anglers on Meadows Lake, which is open to all on a booking system, but spent two of his six nights on the neighbouring Poachers Pool.

He came third in the draw for swims on Meadows and opted to set up in Party Point Double.

“I’ve been to Holme Fen twice before and caught both times, but I’d been really unlucky and caught stockies of 16lb and 19lb,” said builder Steve.

“Party Point Double was my third-choice swim and we hadn’t seen any fish, but I knew there was a clear spot to fish at about 16-and-a-bit wraps (65 yards). The first night I put two rods on that spot and had the 52-pounder, so I switched all my rods to that area for the second night. 

“Nothing happened the second night and I think I had probably put too many rods on the spot, so I left two on there for the third night and had the 38.

“On the last night I was standing in the swim with a mate and we saw a fish come straight out of the water over the spot, and literally within a couple of seconds the bobbin pulled up and line started slowly ticking off the spool. I struck but pulled into absolutely nothing.

“I quickly reeled in and cast the same bait out again.

“As I put the rod on the rests it screamed off and I landed the 57-pounder, before having the 37 within the hour.” 

Cold relief arrives with a 46-pounder

Wading into the water in just his pants gave John Claridge a heavy cold, but the perfect tonic in the shape of this 46lb 3oz mirror.

After forgetting his waders during an earlier prebaiting visit to the Sand and Gravel syndicate in the Cotswolds, the 43-year-old was forced to brave the chilly water in his underwear.

But all John’s discomfort was soon forgotten when he banked the mirror known as Look at the Length at an all-time top weight.

The Swindon rod, who manages Tackle Den in South Cerney, said: “I was nursing man-flu – probably something to do with having to prebait in my pants in cold water up to my thighs as I’d forgotten my chesties – but I got the rods out relatively easily as I’d already put on hookbaits and clipped the lines up to the precise distance. Full of cold, I turned the alarms up a notch and hit the sack early.”

At dawn the next day John received a positive bite after a
few subtle liners and pulled into a big fish.

“As the carp neared the bank,” he said, “the carbon throbbed under my hand and I knew what I was attached to was a lot heavier that anything I had caught so far this season. A back then popped to the surface and, quickly adjusting the net position, I stepped forward and engulfed my prize.

“The depth of the beast was immense and I summoned all my strength to heave him safely up to the awaiting mat. A very special carp from a special lake.”

Syndicate rod adds 44lb 8oz common to impressive tally

Jamie Peacock completed a quartet of target fish within six months with the capture of this 44lb 8oz common.

The fish, known as the Cut Tail Common, follows on from the capture of Clarissa at 53lb 4oz and the Long Common at 38lb in Jamie’s first full year on Deepings One in Lincolnshire.

The Peterborough angler said: “This year was my first full year on Deepings One, having only joined last summer.  

“I’ve managed to land a few nice fish, including Clarissa at 53lb 4oz on my birthday weekend in April, which was a great present! A couple of weeks later I had Black Scar at 48lb 12oz.

“In August I had the Long Common, slightly down in weight at 38lb. This fish had to be one of the hardest-fighting I have ever caught and it went mental for about 15 minutes.  

“After picking up these fish fairly quickly I thought the Cut Tail Common would take me a long time to catch, so when I had it at the weekend I could not believe it – I was blown away.”

Jamie added: “I turned up on Friday at around 3.30pm and saw the swim I wanted was free. I chose the swim because I had been regularly catching from it for the last month. 

“There are two islands to fish to and they gave me shelter from the easterly wind which was blowing all weekend, so I was convinced there would be a few fish gathered in the area. 

“I got the rods out on the spots at around 80 yards and Spombed out about a kilo of Nash Key Cray boilies on each one.

“The next morning at around 8.30am I had a single bleep and noticed the line was moving. The fish was kiting but not taking any line off the spool, so I hit into it and started to bring it back, but it didn’t really do much until I had it under the tip, when it gave a few powerful runs. 

“At first I thought it was a small fish, as it was shaking its head, but when I saw it boil up on the surface I knew it was a good one.”

Margin magic for a venue best carp

The old saying that ‘the margins are the best feature on the lake’ rang true for Mark Tucknott, who landed a new personal best and venue record last week.

The 55-year-old from Romford, East London, was fishing at Long Lake in Reading when he banked the water’s first-ever forty in the shape of this 41lb 2oz mirror.

It came from a marginal stalking spot that Mark had kept topped up with bait since beginning his session at the 8.5-acre venue.

He said: “I spread a kilo of mixed 12mm, 16mm and 20mm boilies over a spot not far from the bank and kept a close eye on it. On the first day a number of fish visited it, but none of them dropped down to feed. 

“I checked the spot the following morning and all the bait had gone, so I put in another five handfuls and placed my hookbait among them – a critically-balanced Manilla boilie made from a cut-down pop-up.”

Mark then endured an agonising couple of hours watching a succession of fish continuing to visit the area and feed on his spot, before eventually his buzzer screamed into life. 

“After half-an-hour, two fish drifted in and took a bait each before moving off. Twenty minutes later another good fish came in and did the same,” Mark said. 

“This continued for the next two hours, before an upper double-figure koi wolfed down most of the remaining bait.

“I introduced another two handfuls of 12mm boilies, and about an hour later I had a screaming take. A monumental battle followed before I slipped the net under the huge mirror known as Lead Head. It was an incredible session, and to bag the lake’s first forty was a huge bonus!”

49lb Mike’s Pet from day-ticket lake soon to go syndicate

Alex Woodcook realised a long-held ambition to catch one of the biggest carp in the historic Wraysbury North Lake when he slipped his net under this stunning 49lb mirror.

Alex landed the fish, which is known as Mike’s Pet, on the second morning of a two-day session at the famous fishery in Berkshire.

It was a timely capture too, because Alex had been hoping to catch one of the day-ticket lake’s biggest residents before the venue switches to syndicate status in April 2017.

He told Angling Times: “Conditions couldn’t have been more perfect, with a band of low pressure making its way over the lake. I thought to myself ‘this has to be the time!’ 

“The swim I was in, called Springate’s Point, covers a lot of water in front of an island, and running along the front of this are a number of coves created by the overhanging trees. 

“Some of these were clearer and deeper than the rest, and I figured that these were areas that had been fed on recently.”

To begin with Alex went easy on the bait, introducing around 10 Spombs of groundbait, pellets and chopped boilies. 

Over the top of this he cast a rig comprising a 5ins hooklink and a size 4 hook carrying two half sections of wafter boilies mounted blow-back style and tipped with plastic red corn. 

After receiving a bite on the first evening that ended in a hook-pull, his fortunes took a turn for the better as the second day of the trip dawned.

Alex said: “I had three bleeps on one of the rods that was locked-up to the island, struck, and found myself connected to what was clearly a powerful fish. It kited away towards open water, staying deep, and I knew it was a good fish, but it was only when I got it into the margins I realised just how big it was. 

“When I finally slipped it over the net cord and saw its huge shoulders, I knew that I had at last achieved what I’d set out to do – catch a Wraysbury chunk! 

Britain’s first 70lb carp banked

This is the picture of the UK’s first 70lb carp.

The record-breaking specimen, known as Big Rig, tipped the scales at 71lb 4oz and was caught by Robby Harrison from The Avenue Fishery in Shropshire.

It’s the same fish that recently beat the current British best of 68lb 10oz at a weight of 69lb 3oz, meaning that it’s put on 2lb 1oz since it was caught by Tom Doherty just over six weeks ago.

It’s Robby’s first year on the syndicate and he made carp fishing history when he smashed his own personal best that stood at 41lb with Big Rig that took a balanced 16mm Mainline Hybrid boilie.

“This is like the angling version of winning the lottery,” said Robby, from Liverpool.

“One of my fellow anglers helped me net the fish, but he nudged it with the frame twice and it powered off on both occasions.” 

“I told him to sink the net, but neither of us knew which fish it was so it was the sheer depth of its body that was colliding with the net.

“I didn’t have a head torch, so I didn’t see it straight away, but when I did I was blown away…I’ve never seen anything like it.

It’s a specimen that has been hand-reared by Avenue owner and boss of RH Fisheries Rob Hales, whose intentions of growing record-breaking fish have caused controversy within the sport.

But Robby agrees with others who believe that what Rob does is provide ‘ordinary’ anglers with the chance of catching the carp of their dreams without going abroad.

“I’m just a normal angler who wants to catch the biggest fish that I can,” Robby added. 

“I don’t care what people say because I’ve caught a fish that filled me with emotions and excitement that made me feel like a boy again. Anyone who’s got a problem with that has to remember that it’s just fishing at the end of the day.”

Switch of swim leads to mirror carp ‘Scar’

James Butcher has continued his memorable autumn on Kingsmead One lake by banking the big mirror known as ‘The Scar’ at 47lb 10oz.

Just a few weeks after making a bumper ten-fish haul from the Berkshire venue, the East London rod again got among the bigger mirrors in the 30-acre lake on the second night of a four-day session.

Once again, keen observation played a key role in the capture.

“On the first night I fished a swim where the fish had been showing when I arrived, but by the morning they had done the off. I saw a few shows in another part of the lake, so moved my kit round and, as I knew the spots, I flicked the rods out and put out 10 baits around each,” said James.

“After three hours I decided to give it some bait, introducing 1.5kg over each rod to get the fish grazing. As it got dark the fish began to show again, and I sat up listening. Eventually I crashed out, only to be woken by liners on my right hand rod. The tip soon pulled down but when I struck, there was nothing there,” he added.

“I recast a little shorter and got back into the bag and the next thing I knew the right hand rod pulled up tight and I was playing a really heavy carp. It beat me up big time for about 15 minutes or so before I could net it. On the scales it went 47lb 10oz. Happy days!”

‘Dave’ at 55lb tops mega haul from day-ticket fishery

A last minute-decision to switch lakes paid off in handsome style for Steve Wright after he went on to bank four stunning big carp, topped by a 55lb mirror.

After making the journey from his Hinckley, Leicestershire home to Bluebell Lakes in Northants, the 63-year old was intending to fish the venue’s Sandmartin Lake. However, this changed after a quick chat with the owner of Bluebell Lakes, Tony Bridgefoot. 

Steve said: “He told me that there weren’t many anglers on Swan Lake. I didn’t really fancy it as there had been no carp out in the previous nine days, but a mate who was fishing over there convinced me to give it a try for the night. I dropped into a peg halfway down one bank, in the hope of catching them as they moved up and down the lake.”

With just two tench to show for his efforts over the next 24 hours, Steve was beginning to question his choice of lake, before a bite out of the blue signalled a major change in fortunes.

“I was thinking of moving and I’d already reeled one rod when one of the others screamed off. The fish made it into a weedbed but soon came out into open water, and I felt the rod tip bump so I knew it was still on,” said Steve.

“When I got the fish around 20 yards from the bank it surfaced and I recognised it as one known as Dave. On the bank it tipped the scales at 55lb on the nose.”

At 4am the next morning Steve’s session then got even better when he landed a 40lb 4oz mirror, followed by a 32lb 4oz common an hour later and a 39lb mirror later that same evening. The first of the trio was a new ‘forty’ for the lake, so Steve was allowed to give it a name… which he promptly did, calling the big mirror ‘Stevie’!”

‘Little-and-often’ baiting for 47lb 4oz Yateley common

A slow autumn campaign burst into life for Martin Gardener as he landed three Yateley fish, including this new personal best.

The 47lb 4oz common, known as Murray, came from the famous Hampshire complex’s North Lake.

Martin also managed mirrors of 33lb 14oz and 19lb 8oz in the same evening of his 48-hour session.

The 51-year-old from Flackwell Heath in Buckinghamshire fished just 20 yards out in a small bay and baited little and often.

He said: “After a very slow September on the North Lake I had three fish on Tuesday evening, including a recapture of Murray, but this time at a best-ever autumn weight of 47lb 4oz!

“She gave an epic scrap at close range in a snaggy bay with the line caught round a tree. As she came back round I could see from the white tail tip that I was almost certainly connected to a new personal best, and fortunately the carp gods were with me – the line and the tree parted company with no problem.”

Two fish for 75lb-plus on test bait

A new test boilie due for release next year provided Ian Hirst with two fish for more than 75lb and a new personal best.

Fishing at Grenville Lake in Cambridgeshire, the Bait-Tech sales and brand manager spotted fish at long range and baited heavily to tempt a 41lb 3oz mirror and another of 36lb shortly afterwards.

He said: “After seeing fish show at distance I started the session at long range and introduced 5kg of the new boilie in 15mm and 18mm sizes. It’s currently under test and due for release early in 2017.”

He added: “Conditions looked bang on as a new southerly wind had kicked up. 

“The 41lb 3oz mirror came a few hours after introducing the bait and the 36lb mirror followed after I had topped up the swim later the same day with another 5kg of the freezer boilie.

“The 41lb 3oz fish is my new UK personal best.”

Day session treat brings son 45lb 5oz reservoir common

Day-ticket carp don’t get much bigger or better-looking than this stunning 45lb 5oz common landed by Michael Monk.

The 32-year-old was targeting his local Walthamstow No.3 Reservoir for a 12-hour session with his father when he landed the new pb from his only bite of the day.

It marked a welcome upturn in fortunes for Michael, who was made redundant recently.

He said: “My dad very kindly treated me to a day session up the ’Stow… and what a treat it was! This massive common is one of the two biggest carp in the lake, the other being a 45lb-plus mirror, which I would dearly love to catch.  

“I count myself extremely lucky to have caught this amazing creature and to be able to share it all with my dad. It was amazing to be able to fish next to one another all day – and to see him slip the net under this lump will always be a great memory for me.”

Michael used the simplest of tactics to tempt the mighty common from the 12-acre venue. His standard bottom bait rig comprised a 10ins Nash Armourlink hooklink, a size 6 Nash Fang X hook and a 16mm boilie on a long hair. 

“I spread 1kg of Sticky Baits Manilla boilies over two rods, spaced a rod length apart, at 60 yards range close to an island. I kept the boilies going in all day, catapulting a small handful over each rod every 20 minutes or so.

“Carp fishing is my passion, so to have caught this whacking 45-pounder is a dream come true, especially as it’s from my home town!” concluded Michael. 

Mike Lyddon's mighty mixture

Mike Lyddon enjoyed a red letter day when he banked his season’s greatest mixed bag... made up of crucians to almost 4lb, roach, tench and a personal-best carp.

The Gardner Tackle-backed rod spodded out a bed of groundbait at 50 yards and dropped a Method feeder over the top.

Then, in a breathtaking 48-hour stint, he netted an amazing 29 crucians over 3lb, the best of them going 3lb 15oz.

That was only part of the tale, though. Half-a-dozen tench to 6lb, stacks of quality rudd to almost 2lb, roach to 1lb 8oz and a UK personal-best carp of 34lb also muscled in on the act.

All Mike’s fish were beaten on a rig made up with 6lb Gardner Hydroflo mainline to a 4lb Mirage fluorocarbon hooklength and a size 16 Target hook.

45lb 12oz Box Common comes quietly on social session

The Box Common, one of the most sought-after day-ticket carp in the country, has been banked at 45lb 12oz.

Luke Thornett caught the fish during a three-night session at St John’s, on the Linear Fisheries complex in Oxfordshire.

The 30-year-old from Oxford also snared two 20lb mirrors during his session in the Point swim at the popular gravel pit.

He told Angling Times: “When I arrived it was flat calm and the fish were fizzing like mad – there were pinprick bubbles all over so I knew the fish were there.”

The electrician fished to a gravel bar just 30 yards out and baited with boilies and hemp.

He said: “On the first night the bar was covered with floating weed that had been cut by the weed-cutting boat and had anchored on the bar. But by the second night the wind had picked up and cleared it.”

The Box Common appeared at 6.30am on Luke’s final day. He said. “It was an absolute one-toner, but when I hit into it it just kited straight into the weed, which wasn’t attached to anything, so it covered its eyes and the fish just came straight in.

“When I got it in the net I expected it to be a little pasty, but when I pulled the weed away I knew it was a big common.

“I don’t usually fish these sorts of waters – I prefer low-stock pits where I can be left alone – so it’s mad that I only went down for a social and had this one!”

Three forties get Jon buzzing!

Jon Taylor had a swarm of wasps to thank for his capture of three huge mirrors weighing 42lb, 42lb 6oz and 45lb 6oz.

Arriving at one of the Essex Carp Syndicate’s portfolio of waters, the 42-year-old found numbers of fish showing in front of a swim that was already taken. Seeing that the adjacent plot was free, he thought that his luck was in – but he soon changed his mind.

Jon explained: “There was a wasp nest in the swim, and some poor chap had suffered multiple stings over the weekend. As soon as I wandered in there I was chased off by a swarm!”

Forced into a rethink, Jon knew that the wind was due to swing round, so he decided to move to a swim that would be on the end of it. Just 10 hours later he was celebrating his best-ever session.

“I got the rods out and sprayed a couple of kilos of boilies over them. The wind then swung round into my face and the fish were instantly on it. A speedy take resulted in one of the lake’s big girls – the Scattered Lin – at 42lb 6oz, followed by a big-framed mirror called Boris at 42lb.

“I could see the spots fizzing up and shortly after recasting I was away again. This was the biggest of the lot – a fish called Brick Top – weighing 45lb 6oz,” he added.