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It was, the red sweatshirt pic, thats a Fitness First sweatshirt, so I had gone straight from work to fishing. Hard life, playing American Football, and working in a gym. I lost around 2stone when I retired from playing! Bruce drove down to photograph the 13.8 and I had that fish while he was there, had to wade up to my knees to net it.

Most of my fish came on overnight sessions, only a couple on longer trips. 8 fish in 19 trips, most being over 20lb, 3 being 24.12 The other fish were 13lb8oz mirror, (i weighed it because it was the first fish I caught from there,) a couple of 18lb commons and another mid double mirror. If you found them, multiple catches were the norm.

Ardleigh is known as a water with potential for carp, and numbers were moved from the Wick lane 'pond', which was a carp fishery years ago, before the main ressie became available to coarse angling. Alton has long been a mixed coarse fishery, good and bad spells, but now with a good head ranger who is very pro-angling, some excellent fishing at times; its not easy fishing by any means for any species, simply because its so large and it doesn't receive that much bait. A match last year was won with 5lb, although every angler caught, the next day the same stretch produced weights to individual anglers over 50lb. The fish had moved onto the bait introduced the day before. Carp fishing is in its infancy on Alton, helped by the allowing of night fishing. Those carp will also move onto bait, its easier than finding natural food I guess. I have had roach sessions 'spoilt' by carp and pike getting into the swim. The few carp anglers who have caught have been lucky enough to drop onto fish, or seen them, and set up for them, as the surface caught fish proves. I don't think however its easy, the roach and bream can disappear from day to day, be at Lemons Hill today, then the same area can be blank tomorrow. The pike are unknown, usually following the roach around, and hanging midwater in the deeper areas. Not every area has swims along the bank. From The Wonder you have 10-15 pegs, then no swims until you get past the bird hide towards the main entrance. Lemons Hill, a few swims, then a blank bank towards The Wonder area. Thats just the areas I know, so trying to find carp in that... That top fish came on the same overnighter as the other fully scaled, remember it for strange reasons. My mate who always came out to do pictures wasn't answering his phone, and I found out he was on a tube train in London when the bombs went off. I got another mate to come down, but my mind was more concerned and worried for Bruce, then first light the second fish came, as a bream angler set up just down the bank, he was amazed at it and did the photos for me.

Totally agree 👆🏻

It was that top pic that I saw on google earlier! Cracking fish mate! 👌🏻👌🏻

I was just looking on g👀gle and saw a pic of nick holding a lovely fish of 24.12 👌🏻

Umm this thread seems to have morphed into an Ardleigh thread , not that I'm complaining ! . Hopefully Shakey74 won't think I'm being disrespectful , but would Nick also like to comment about unknown / seldom caught monsters please ? . Ta