40lb-plus carp taken...on the POLE!

YOU don’t always need beefy rods and big hooks to land massive carp, as Dean Rowden proved this week when he banked a 44lb giant while targeting silverfish on the pole.

The keen match angler, from Southampton, was on holiday in France and knew the day-ticket lake he visited at Etang De La Chauffie, Pressignac, held some big mirrors and commons.

His trip got off to a flying start when he ticked off a new 34lb personal best specimen using Method feeder tactics, but little did he know that switching target species would lead to an even bigger surprise.

After deciding to have a go for the lake’s resident tench and roach using pole tactics, he rigged up with a 5lb hooklength and size 14 hook baited with worm.

Dean says:

“I got a bite, struck, and thought I’d finally hooked a tench, but it didn’t take long to realise that a fish of a lifetime was attached to the other end!

“It fought for more than 40 minutes and the moment I saw it I called for my dad to borrow a much bigger landing net!”

Dean Rowden and his 44lb mirror carp caught on the pole