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So now we're going back to June '17 and a memorable session fishing for a common I'd seen drifting in and out of a weed bed. This is also the session where I saw the mole swimming which I'd mentioned in another thread. I'll never forget the take I got off this common, I very nearly pulled the hook bait from under its nose. Enjoy: The water I've been fishing this last year holds some wicked fish and I've been lucky enough to land 2 of the three mirrors I really wanted, but there are some awesome commons too. There are several old original Nene Valley commons swimming about (some of the best commons in the country IMO). Three of them are biggies, each of them beautiful in their own way, topped by a very, very long, dark chestnut whacker that's easily recognisable by some old damage to its tail that makes the top of its upper lobe appear almost perfectly flat. A better common you cannot imagine believe me, but unfortunately it's also probably the least frequently caught, quite a rare fish it is. Not a problem; I'd be over the moon with any of these incredible old commons. So I showed up early Friday afternoon having blagged my way out of work early. It was warm and sunny so I hoped there'd be the odd fish milling about on top giving away their location but a couple of hours walking and looking didn't give me any clues. I kind of knew roughly where I wanted to be as the lake had done a couple of fish recently and I knew where from. I had a choice of two good swims to jump in and changed mind regards which to choose several times over as I went to retrieve my gear from the car. I eventually chose the most central of the 2 knowing full well it'd give me a decent view of the lake later on when they'd likely give their location away. The conditions looked good, bright and sunny with a decent ripple and the odd brief shower that came with a slight drop in pressure. It took me a while to set up, 3 spots found, rigs positioned, baiting with the spod. I was particularly pleased with my rods and it was now a question of waiting and watching for the signs that would hopefully come. The day flew by as it always does when you're enjoying a session and before I knew it the clock struck around 8 o'clock. I was sitting on the edge of the bank and starting to get a little worried I'd not seen owt when in the distance a couple of hundred yards away I saw what I'd been looking for. A carp popped it's head up out of a weed bed, then a few minutes later another did the same. Now I wasn't about to move for just two sightings but the area was noted for future reference. I got an early night and set the alarm for 4 am which IMO is the time you really figure out what the score is. Alarm goes off, out of the pit, kettle on, Fag rolled, sitting watching. There's still the odd shower, clouds rolling over, yet still warm, it looks PERFECT which is worrying as I've still not seen owt in front of me. I keep a close eye on the weed bed down the way and around 04:30 I see one smash out. Then another, then another. I make my mind up to sit it out until after bite time and make a move. By 10:00 I'm packed up and bringing the rods in, I load the barrow and wander down to the swim that looks to be holding some fish. I dump the gear in the swim and go for a wander to see my mate way over the other side of the lake. He's had a stonking common of 29 lb, spawned out yet looking healthy, black as anything, a proper looker, and I want to congratulate him. The sun is well up now, it's proper hot, so I'm in no particular rush to get back fishing too soon. I drink tea with my mate before we go on a wander. We spend the early afternoon watching a couple of stockies ghost in and out of a margin spot taking snails off the floating weed, beautiful sights. We see, and I swear to God this is true, a MOLE SWIMMING! I had to google this to confirm we weren't imagining it. Yes, turns out moles can swim. Who knew? By 14:30 I'm back in my swim and getting my fishing head on. I have a couple of casts with a tiny lead, the weed out here is nothing short of savage, It's completely solid, but I do find one spot out in front at 36 yards and one spot to my right that I found last year, maybe 30 yards out. Both spots feel a bit special, I can get a drop with a 2 oz lead so it's clearly presentable and they're both surrounded by forests of weed. Pukka. I suspect the fish are held up in these weed beds so there's no way I'm spodding, it'd be the kiss of death. I chuck my little white pop ups on the spots and put a couple of pouch-fulls of baits round each one, maybe 30 baits per rod. Easy, quiet, effective. I sit back and hope as the day goes on I'll spot them showing. Well, I didn't have to wait long, because by maybe 17:00 I've seen them, even in the afternoon heat a couple have popped their heads out and I tell you what; they look bang up for it. I'm looking at the right hand spot, I can see the weed that's up to just under the surface rocking as a fish or two are clearly moving in and out of it. Then, silently, a massive, dark, stunningly beautiful common comes right out up to its anal fin before sinking back down. WOW! It then does it again to confirm I'm not imagining it. I'm speechless and a little nervous, not only is there a big common on the dance floor, it's clearly one of the big three..... and it's just feet away from my hook bait. I continue watching subtle signs as the weed is moved by whatever is down there. They've started showing near my other spot too and all of a sudden this is looking bang on for bite. I've now done 5 nights this spring and this is the first time I've really been on them and as you can imagine I'm pretty excited. The bailiff shows up, he's moving in next door, we share a beer and we stand watching the signs of carp for a while, he agrees it's looking good in here. We finish our beers and he goes to get set up telling me to grab him if needed for any photos. Likewise I say to him. I sit back, it's now 18:00, the sun is still well up, it's boiling hot in fact and it's no surprise I aint had a bite off the deck I think to myself. I make the decision to put a zig out for a few hours next to the weed bed on the right (the big common spot) in the hope that the common takes it on the way in or out of the weed. The rods are 5 paces away. I take one step and look up over to the area, see nothing. Two, three steps and I'm looking at the rod. Fourth step and I'm reaching out bring the rod in to put the zig on. I take my fifth step, my hand is literally a foot away from the rod when...... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.............. It absolutely rips off!!!!!! I lift into it and it's like lifting into a brick wall! I can't believe it, if I had got up 10 second, 5 second.... even 2 seconds earlier I'd have pulled the hook bait from under it's nose!! 'CONCENTRATE' I think to myself. I know it's a biggun, no head shaking, no rapid movement, it's just slow and heavy. It slowly kites to the left away from the weed bed which I'm amazed at then it seems to realise that it's making it too easy. It heads for the weed bed, directly to the weed bed, it does not pass GO, it does not collect £200. It gets right in there and before I know it the rod is completely solid. 'Right then' I think, in all fairness this is exactly what I expected. I'm fishing with 18 lb line that's tough as old boots, I'm as confident as I could possibly be with the tackle. I apply side strain for the next 5 minutes and can still feel the odd kick but there's no way it's coming out like that. There's an old log next to the swim, I climb on top of it and get a better angle from above, and I can feel the fish coming up in the water, perfect, long fronds of weed clinging to the line, I reckon I'm gonna see what I've hooked here.... but just like that the fish clocks what's going on and shows me what it's capable of..... It hammers out of the weed to the left, it flat rods me, kites across the swim, taking line off the spool like the reel aint even there, 40 yards it runs, through both other rods completely wiping them out and into another weed bed. 'OK'...... So I'm back to square one here so I continue as planned. Heavy side strain which has no influence on anything but again, I feel the odd kick. I apply the same method as I did before, I'm over the other side of the swim now and I'm on tip toes holding the rod as high as a I can. Again, I can feel it coming up in the water, brilliant, and once more the fish clocks what's going on. It kites out of the weed, more slowly this time and as it passes in front of me maybe 20 yards out its back breaks the surface. I would get banned from this forum if I told you the words that went through my mind at this point. It's big, it's long, it's covered in scales..... it's the common.... and I begin to shake. As it sinks back down the tip of its tail breaks the surface and I swear I think I see that it's flat. Jeez. Now I don't know about you guys but I honestly prefer not to know what I'm playing, especially if it's a good'n. It just makes me panic and I struggle to concentrate. I'm now thinking of the three PB commons I've lost at the net in my life time and wondering if it could happen again. 'CONCENTRATE'! The fish heads back down into deeper water and over into the original weed bed. I am overjoyed to say the lines from both other rods have pinged off so I'm in direct contact with no obstructions, very lucky I think to myself. I don't fancy letting it get right in there again so I tighten the clutch and give it some stick, knowing that I must have a good hook hold, but at the same time considering the pain I'd feel if I lost it. To be honest I'm really not enjoying it, I know it's the common, I'm shaking, there's weed all over my line, it's just too hairy for my liking. But, it starts to tire and it's coming closer, it's out of the weed bed now and it's within 10 yards of me. It still makes couple of spirited runs even off the tight clutch, it powers down into the depths, but can't stay down there for long and for the first time i think I might actually land this thing. It's on the top again, kites to the right and to the left but much slower now, it looks amazing, dark, as long a fish as I've seen. It gulps air and I know it's almost over, my legs have completely gone, I'm shaking like a leaf. And then just like that it rolls over the cord of the net. I kneel down and reach down through the weed that's everywhere now and feel for the tail, find it, and gently lift it above the surface..... It is flat...... it's the biggun. My jaw hits the floor. I unhook her in the net. She's very well hooked, I was never losing her, all the worry was for nothing. I secure the net and let her recover and try to roll a Fag, it's very difficult as I'm still shaking. I smoke it then have another look at her. She has been as big as mid forty's but I can tell she's not that big. She's clearly spawned but she's still looking in fantastic nick. In fact I actually thinks she looks better down in weight, proper carp shaped, doesn't look empty in any way. I guess around 40 lb. I pop round to get the bailiff. It was less than an hour ago he was sitting having a beer in my swim. 'You got one' he asks? Yup? 'A good'n'?? Yup! I tell him which fish it is and his jaw joins mine on the floor. Like me, he momentarily loses the power of speech before coming to his senses and saying he'll be round in a minute. I go back to the swim. I have another look. It's the nicest looking common I've ever caught by miles and it's my biggest common too. It's a dream fish, a true blue, original Nene Valley, rarely caught, stonker of a common, blacks and browns and chestnuts and golds..... just absolutely stunning. I'm joined by the bailiff and he's blown away too, he agree it looks 40 and I still think that when I lift her out so it surprises us both when it goes 38.12 on the scales. Am I complaining? I'll give you one guess. The hair on the back of my neck stands up when I peel away the mesh, it's an incredible fish. We do some photos, into the pond for some water shots, and I hold her until she's strong enough to power off out of my arms. Party time! I chuck the rods back out, get pretty poor drops, don't care, get the Churchill Cuban cigar that's been waiting in my kit for this moment out, and sit back with a beer. There's still carp in the area and in all honesty I should have had another but I'm just happy to be watching them under the affects of that big fish spell. The rest of the session flies by and before long it's time for home. The pics have turned out amazing, some of my fave photos ever, and I'm still checking them every few hours now. Mind = blown. This is why we do it fellas. Happy days!

The latest video from Tel on his exploits on the Thames. No one tells a story like Tel, I could listen to him read the shipping forecast and not get bored! Very interesting revaluation about Nick Huellers 50lb'er that was reputedly ottered, perhaps it wasn't after all (or at least when it was alive.)

So yesterday I managed to scan some more pictures from the list in my opening thread. So I'll do write ups on these captures. So I'll go back to the end of October. My mate who's bait I was on had bailed out and also the other fella on the bait. Now One thing my mate had told me earlier in the season was that fish loved robin red and especially in the winter ( I know everyone knows that fish love robin red but in a milk protein, I'd not even considered that). So as I was now on my own on the bait I decided to tweak it a bit. We had been on a strawberry flavour that my mate had sourced, it was used to flavour ice cream so was a very thin liquid and it leaked out exceptionally well. But to this and as winter was approaching I added Robin red, bergamot essential oil and addit digest. Now I already had 10kg knocked up in plain milk and then rolled another 10kg in the robin red. Now I had actually been baiting 2 swims for a while, one where I had my good session and another that was a marginal spot further back up the lake that would be a fall back swim incase I couldn't get into my prime spot. Now the last weekend in October I managed a 30lb 06oz mirror from my main baited swim. Sadly the following weekend I couldn't get in there so fished my back up swim. So I'd set up on the friday by 4-30/5pm. My bivvy was set right back due to the main spot being a marginal spot. I'd deposited a few handfuls of chops over the spot and a dumbell wafter hookbait. I recall it being bang on 7pm as one rolled right over my margin spot. Now I should add this spot although only a a couple of rod lengths out next to a Reed bed is 9ft deep. A mate popped round to see me and I'd said I seen one. As we chatted quietly another rolled, followed by another and another. By 10pm we had witnessed over 20 fish roll, I was pulling my hair out. Was it tangled, was the additional bits to the bait too much. Loads going through my head. Now to cut a long story short, that weekend I had a total of 37 shows over that one spot. I recast 3 times, each time the rig came back spot on. I packed up scratching my head. Back down on the following Wednesday for my usual baiting session. 2kg of red milk in my main baited swim plus some particle as the tufties had started to appear and I wanted something there if or when the fish visited. My back up swim though I gave it a gallon of red maggots thinking the fish were hitting the last of the naturals and I intended on getting back in there on the friday. The friday comes and I manage to get the fall back swim. I set up and deposit half a gallon of red maggots on the marginal spot. Whilst I let that settle i head to my main swim and deposit 3kg of red milk in there (1kg per spot). Back to my swim and 4 fake maggots on a blow back rig are lowered on to the spot. Once again 7pm and the first show. I'm really confident. By 10-30 and a few lines the doubts are coming in. But I know the rig is lowered spot on. I hit the sack about 11 but i can't sleep, the odd fish rolling keeping me awake thinking it will go any minute. It was about 2am I think and I crash out, proper deep sleep after a hard week at work etc. And you know what's coming, im woke by a faint alarm sound. Thinking it can't be mine as not loud enough I then hear the bobbin smack the butt with incredible force. That has me out the bag and the margin rod is ripping. I get to the rod and notice my jack plug has fallen from my taped up alarm so no sounder box but luckily the fish had gone to open water. This fish beats me up for about 5mins before I get it to the surface and notice a nice linear roll over, I know which fish it is as I had it in my first season on there. . I net the fish and sure enough it's a fish known as Sandy. On the scales and 40lb 06oz I'm not complaining, its down a 1lb from my previous capture. The rest of the session went by without so much as a beep but I'd take what I had very happily. I don't really like repeat captures but they are part and parcel I'm afraid, especially as I'm not a stalker so can't pick and choose the fish. The 30lb 06oz mirror from the end of October. "Single scale" Sandy at 40lb 06oz.

So when I used to do my old catch reports I couldn't add any pics due to publicity bans. Now it's been a few years since I fished the venues I can re-post a few with pics to go with them. To alleviate some of this boredom I thought I could start with this one from Sept '16. The original post is here. Below I'll re-post with kipper shots. If you like it I might do some more over the coming weeks. Two month blank run ended this weekend. The first big northerly of the year hit us on Friday, I'd been looking forward to it for weeks. Headed straight to the end of it when I arrived at the syndi and the swim I'd been hoping to get all week was free. Get in! Rolled a ciggy and watched the water, the wind smashing into my face. Within 10 minutes I'd seen 2 huge black heads break the surface. Bucket goes down, off I go to get the gear from the car. Arrived back in the swim in record time. I'm out of breath but roll another ciggy out of habit and watch the water. Bosh! They're still here. Three singles in the zone, time to get the brolly up, it's starting to rain. Sit back for a couple of hours and the number of shows i see suggests the best part of the stock is in front of me. Need to get some bait out. Ten spombs on the main spot and the carp disappear, as usual. They're still showing but they've pushed way, way out behind my spot and to my left. I sit there for another couple of hours, trying to invent a silent spomb in my head, and see they're moving back in on this big wind. Waves rolling into my swim, rain blowing right into my brolly and soaking me, love it! Closer and closer they come, I'm getting excited. Finally, 3 shows in quick succession right on the spot. Off it goes, the bobbin whacks the Delkim, I'm in. I played it so carefully, it's my first bite since forever it seems. The first run is immense, it strips maybe 40 yards of line, but then it's well behaved and comes in steadily. My mates in the swim now and he does the honours with the net. We recognise the fish straight away, one of the bog originals, and I realise I might have a PB in the net. It's a real biggie, and I'm smiling from ear to ear. Weighing and photo's done, I sit back for the night. As it hits dusk I see one or two shows but it's looking like the bulk of the fish may have moved. I get some kip but I'm up by 03:00 looking for signs. I see nothing, they've gone elsewhere. By 09:30 the rods are in and I'm off searching for them, or rather I've found them, in the swim probably the furthest away from the one I'm fishing. Down goes the bucket, off to get my gear. An hour later I'm back with the barrow. Swim booked, I'm off home to feed the cats. Get back and the carp are still there, now I need to make a decision, do I spomb? I know it'll push them out of the swim but I believe, like yesterday, they'll move back in tonight. So, I fill it in. I see the carp push out but they've not moved too far, same as before. That night I go to bed feeling confident. 03:00 and I'm woken by a single bleep. I turn on my side and stare out at my spot, the surface is illuminated by the reflection of street lights in the distance. Within 2 minutes I've seen 1, 2, 3, 4 carp roll right on the spot. Big carp as well, causing huge rings to roll all the way back to the bank with each show. I'm out of bed now. I get a savage liner on the middle rod, I nearly hit it, but don't. Roll a ciggy, make a cuppa, sit on my hands, this could not look better. Three more liners in the next hour, lots of tea and smoking, rolling and fizzing over the spot. Whack! The bobbin hits the Delk again. Get in! Now this swim is a little trickier to fish then the last one, shallow margins with overhanging trees, so I'm straight into the waders and out into the pond. This one fights like a beast and if I hadn't seen it quite early in the fight I'd be convinced it was another monster. Still, it was by no means small, far from it, and it had the biggest tail I've ever seen on a carp. Mental looking thing, another original, two tone colouration with small scattered scales. That tail is literally ridiculous! Called a mate who's in the next swim round for the photos. I want them done quickly as I'm watching the fish rolling and fizzing on the spot, I know the other rod is going to go off very shortly. Too shortly in fact, because as soon as I get the fish on the Matt I get the take. Off into the pond again while my mate gets the big tailed mirror back in the water. Another decent fight sees a smaller carp in the net. It's the prettiest of the session, a beautiful little fully scaled mirror, and I'm happy as Larry. We get the photos and weighing of both fish done and I have one rod left in the water. I don't want to recast the others as the fish are clearly still on it and I don't want to push them out again. I sit watching the fizzing/rolling etc for an hour before I decide there has to be something wrong with the rig, it should have gone by now. I bring it in, it looks OK, but put a fresh one on just to be sure. Two rods on the spot, one just off it. The fizzing stops, but half an hour later they're back, and I'm getting excited again. Rolling, bubbling, epic stuff. It's getting light now and I can see the bobbin twitch by maybe half a centimeter as I get another bleep. I'm hovering over the rod now and again it twitches. I watch the line, where it hits the water it's twitching, or rather it was, as it's now lifting up through the surface as the Delkim let's me know that it's time to get wet again. Another good fight and I can tell this one is a lump straight away, it hugs the deck, not doing much, a proper big fish fight, like playing a breeze block. As it rolls over the net I recognise it, a solid fish, one of the big stockies, short and wide, a nice, clean, chunky carp (if a little pale looking lol). Two months with nothing then 4 fish in 2 nights. I'm over the moon, All the blank nights are forgotten about. We suffer the lows and enjoy the highs, and enjoying it I am. After the photos the fish have move out, they've cleared the spot, I'm out of bait. It's game over, so I pack up a happy man and go home smiling. The pics came out great. Still smiling now, it's my best session so far of what's been a very difficult, frustrating year, and of course it's not every day you get a new PB. The weights were 20.10 lb, 29.12 lb, 31.10 lb, and 45.12 lb. I also had some nice tench, but since the forum aint called tench.com I omitted them from the report. Roll on the next session!

Totally right mate. If you're not on them then you can't catch them. But having them all over you and not catching is proper frustrating. Had it many times on dinton. We used to say if they showed on you then move Haha. I recall one session when I had a guest down. The first evening/night I must have had 50 shows in my area. My mate was , "you're going to hammer them". I knew I'd have nothing. The next evening and night still showing but a lot less. The sunday morning and not a fish insight. And similar to you, I was just packing up. I thought I'd wind the left rod in first. Just put that rod in the sleeve and my other rod rips off and I had the long linear (Bernie's linear). Fine lines. Like you, 2 seconds earlier and you would have pulled the bait from the commons mouth. Sometimes your name is on it and sometimes it's not.

Haha, I saw a big fish in there. I was looking in the little bay thats to the right of peg 30/31 (it was known as spooky bay when I fished it). There were a lot of fish in there and noticed a big common. I phoned my mate up and told him what I saw and he said that this common had not long been out at 41lb (recognizeable due to 3 missing scales on by its dorsal fin) .With that a mirror came up next to it and it dwarfed it by a lot. I saw this same mirror in peg 39, it rolled about 15yds in front of me. Came half way out, I had tourettes for the rest of that day. Haha

I still have this pic of me from that 2nd night as the rod ripped off with a carp already on the bank. Panic stations 😂😂

So after a couple of people saying they would like to see/hear about my time on dinton I've managed to find my pic's and even my old diary/ fish lists. So here goes, I'll start with my best session I had on there. I'll give a little insight into the season first and to what then followed. So its 2006 and just before the start of the season a mate i worked with , who also fished dinton, asked me if I'd like to go on his bait. It was a homemade bait so something I'd not really done in my fishing and especially as I was more than happy with premier baits and also the fact that I'd given a recipe to tony at premier for him to roll for me and some mates on dinton that year but I wasn't sure. This mate and a few of his mates always caught loads of fish from dinton. 20 plus fish a year each which isn't or wasn't heard of on there, especially being they were all weekend anglers and along with the numbers of fish they also caught the big lumps. Over and over they would catch them between them all so I decided to go with him purely on the fact his bait had a knack of catching big fish. So my mates were left with the new premier bait and I went with my mate I worked with. He decided upon a milk protein bait to use that year, a very high protein one at that. So opening night (june 15th midnight)and my mate bags a 49lb mirror, the other bloke on the bait had a 44lb mirror and I sadly had nothing. I blame the draw Haha, but straight away he was saying, "told you, this bait will have'em this year". Fast forward to the middle of October and we were struggling like mad. I'd had 4 or 5 fish til that point and my other 2 mates not much more. My other mates on the prem though (4 of them) all into double figures with a couple of the bigguns amongst them. I was well gutted, what a waste of a season I thought. Though my mate whose bait I was on said, " don't worry, this bait comes into it's own in the winter. The colder the better". The following weekend and he had bailed out and gone to an easier water, now I was doomed. Now a lot of hard work, a nice slice of luck and if I do say so myself a pretty good bit of angling changed my season around. Now fast forward again to 19/01/07 and my best session. So I get down usual time of about 3pm on the friday. Only a handful of us fishing the lake now as most packed it in at the end of October , so knew I'd get "my "swim. I was baiting 3 spots in this swim and had been since mid August when that area became unfishable so I hatched a plan to bait down there knowing it was free food for the fish and no one could fish off my back. So all sorted by 4-30pm. At 5-00pm I'm off to my mates swim, so I place my Neville sounder box on a bank stick as I had the box with wires back then and faced it towards my mates swim which was about 250 metres away (yes not good angling but it's what we did). So I get round there and its pitch black, tea in hand my mate says "that a red light on your sounder box?". I looked up and said yeah but it will go out in a second, did it hell. So I'm sprinting as fast as I could along the path, the nearer I get the louder the Neville is screaming. I hald expected to find swans as it was pitch black and couldn't really see from my mates swim. No swans, middle rod is ripping. I lift the rod and thump, thump, thump. Christ I thought, this is a lump. Not a spectacular fight, just a heavy weight. My mate arrives as the fish is nearing the net and one scoop it's in. Head torch on and there's a lump of a mirror "the dustbin ". Onto the mat , in the sling and needle stops at 44lb 06oz. Well made up. Lift the fish for the pictures and right rod bursts into life. I hit the rod, one mate sorts the fish and another is there and he reasembles the net. Play the fish In and again no real fight but a heavy weight. In the net and torch on and a big common is staring at me. So sort the common out and a new PB common of 38lb 06oz . So a bit of composure and we do the pics, mirror first and then the common (the blind eye common its called). Blown away and a call to a good mate to say what happened etc. Now later that night one of my mates had the biggun at 53lb and ounces and another mate had a 32lb mirror. So first light and camera in hand off I go to take pics for my mates. The mate I called the previous night said he'd be down as he wanted to see the 50lber. Now once again not good practice but I left my rods out and bearing in mind one mate is the opposite end of the lake to me and being 23 odd acres I'm a little off my rods. First mate done, the 32lb mirror. Then to my next mate with the 50, he's only 200/300 metres from my swim. We do his pics and hand shakes etc and I head back to my swim with my mate who drove down to see the 50. My mate asked if my rods were out and i said jokingly "yeah of course, I've probably got one on". Walk into the swim and left bobbin is jammed into the Neville's wheel. Pick up the rod and once again just a heavy weight and not being big headed but after catching a few chunks you kind of know when you've got a kipper on. So in it comes and it rolls into the net, yup it's a kipper. On the scales and the needle stops at 42lb. This is a fish known as "Astra" . Absolutely gobsmacked, I recall feeling 10ft tall, on cloud 9 literally. The rest of the morning and day past and it was soon dark again. It was just past 6pm and right rod goes, this time a 32lb 12oz common Grace's the net and my last fish of that session. I recall walking back to the van grinning from ear to ear. And not just for me but my mates 50 etc. Dinton doesn't give up its residents that readily, maybe half a dozen on a good weekend in summer or autumn but that weekend there were 8 fish banked. It was and still is my best session and one that I know I'll struggle to beat and it became the centre point of what turned into one hell of a winter for me. This last pic is of my fish list that season. The last 10 were from November til the end of the season which was the end of March.

It's 'Nen' where I'm from. As you head East people become more posh and call it the Neen🤣

Would you say nen valley or Neen valley carp? 😏 Absolute stonker of a common though and an excellent write up to match, they make great reading these write ups 👍 will look forward to the next one

I've been there mate. Being on fish and getting mugged off is almost more frustrating than not being able to get on fish😂 That lin is like 😮😮😮 Awesome stuff.

Yeah, beat him up mate. That's the one 👍

Absolutely mate. My pal had here at 50 lb last year, looking amazing as usual. Lovely fish.

Awesome mate and quality write up. Proper long common, or by the sounds of it a torpedo of a common. And as you rightly say, the weight Is immaterial. Top result.

Its not for everyone but I loved it on there-just wish I’d had the money at the time to renew my Gold ticket. Biggest I had was 38 too. Like you I was flat rodded once in Peg 1; lost it to a hookpull, partially opened a Drennan Conti Size 4😳. Saw an absolute chunk in front of Peg 3 whilst out in the boat-thought it was a log until I drifted over and it grew fins and waddled off-I very nearly fell in!

Awesome angling as usual mate 😎

So this weeks re-post is what I look back on as one of my favourite ever sessions. Not because it was a red letter day but because it represents everything I love about carp fishing (highs, lows, hard graft and reward). It was really tough going with several moves chasing showing fish for very little reward - until the final morning when I landed my target fish. I had worked really hard all year for this one and then to catch it after such a ball breaking session was just awesome. This is from October 2016. Just wait 'til you see this fish lads - it's a mind blowing example of a carp. Just done three nights on my syndi and bagged the one I really wanted. I blooming worked for it mind.... Showed up on Thursday and moved straight into a swim I lost a decent fish from the week before. They haven't really been showing in daylight on here for a couple of weeks now so I didn't have much to go on. The swim covers a lovely chunk of deeper water and they were bang on it in there previously. I put out a shed load of bait, I was convinced at nightfall they'd put on a show. I rubbed my hands together as the sun started to go down. Three hours later I'm up a tree staring at the silhouettes of big carp smashing out....... 4 swims away!!!!! Gutted. I sit it out hoping there's still a few milling about in the deeper water, it's cold and I really thought they'd be here. Over the course of the night I get up several times to observe the water. I see nothing at all in my vicinity. By 0800 I'm in the swim they were showing in with my gear. The showing has stopped now it's daylight again, as I expected. With not much else to go on I set up thinking if that's where I last saw fish, then that's where I need to be. It's shallower here but still plenty of depth to go at. Out goes an absolute shed load of bait, new rigs, etc etc - sit back and enjoy the day. The sun starts to go down on my second night and I'm excited again, waiting for that first head to clear the surface, having a brew. It's not too long before once again I'm staring at the silhouettes of carp crashing out........ another 2 swims away into even shallower water. FFS!!!!! Now by this time I know exactly what the score is - they're avoiding the angling pressure - the deeper water has been relatively heavily fished recently, they've clearly pushed out due to the lines. I'm now showing up on top of them and spombing out kilos of bait, this too is pushing them out further and further into the shallower water. I spend the night willing the carp to come closer and although I do see one or two in my vicinity the bulk of the stock are clearly out of range. The next morning, still fishless, I make another move to where they were showing the previous night. I'm not so hasty to start casting all over the show this time and choose to sit back with the gear on the barrow and have a think. Over the course of the day I see three carp crash out within 50 yards of me. These are the first daylight shows I've seen and it convinces me they're here in numbers. I decide to put the rods short of where they're showing in an attempt not to spook them. All three rods fanned out on silty areas at 40 yards. I do get the spomb out (I have no choice, I'm on particle) but I put much less in and feather the casts in order to lay the spomb gently on the surface to reduce disturbance. I'm hoping I aint screwed the swim up again. Up goes the brolly and on with a brew. No more shows as nightfall approaches and I'm starting to get worried. Darkness falls and still no activity, these carp are really sensitive this weekend. Then like clockwork, the same time as the previous nights, they start to show like crazy...... ON MY SPOTS FROM THE PREVIOUS NIGHT 2 SWIM AWAY!!!! AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!! I've had enough of this - I drag the rods in, pull down the brolly, screw all my gear into a giant ball, dump it on my barrow, and off into the night I go marching. I arrive at the swim and tiptoe to the waters edge. BADOSH! SMASH! They are having it big time. Out come the rods, downsize the leads, wrap up to distance and fresh rigs on - the first rig goes out perfectly first time, I'm well happy. BADOSH! They're still there. The second rig lands too far to the right, I need another cast. Second time it's bang on the money. CRASH! Still there. The third rig takes two attempt too. I wait, and stare, and listen..... nothing..... surely a total of 5 casts with 1.5 ounce leads cannot have cleared a shoal of feeding fish???? Then, silently, a huge set of rings appears over the spot. HALLELUJAH - After 55 hours, 3 swims, 12 kg of bait....... I'm finally on the fish!!!! Up goes the brolly as I do my best to set up the rest of my gear in the black dark without causing too much disturbance. I'm not a fan of moving in the dark but sometimes it just has to be done. That first cuppa/ciggy when I finally sit down is the best of the weekend as I see three more fish roll over the bait. There's just nothing else I can do now, so I get a relatively early night for some well deserved kip. About 0100 I'm woken by a monster crashing out right in front of me. I stare out at the blackness and can still see activity on the spots. I'm starting to get those doubts now... it was too dark to see the rigs as they were cast, maybe they tangled??? I have to tell myself to stop worrying and go back to sleep. 0300 now and I wake up again, I feel refreshed and get up for ciggy, a brew, and to stare at the spots. It's not looking so hectic now but there are still signs, they are still there. I have to go home today so this is my last chance. I sit praying to the carp gods for a couple of hours, willing a fish to hook itself, and would you believe it... it works! Two bleeps on the Delkim to get my attention before the middle rod absolutely rips off!!! Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee......... Into the waders, grab the net, and I hit the rod - it doesn't feel big but I do not want to lose this fish, I've worked so hard for it, so I'm off into the pond to meet it half way. It bangs its head a couple of times, I find this often indicates a smaller fish, but I'm not bothered. Any fish will do. I feel like I've earned one. It kites to the right which would be an issue from the bank due to a reed bed, but I'm not on the bank so it's not. I wade out further and pump the rod slowly but surely, gaining line. It does go on one spirited run as it nears the net but I deal with it, slackening off the clutch. Then, just like that, its head breaks the surface and it's in the net. Relief..... I thank the carp gods, quickly. I check the fish in the moonlight, in my head it's just a small one. It looks awesome - big apple slice scales running along it lateral line, in fact it looks like a mini version of my target fish. I turn my head torch on to red light and have a closer look, it might not be as small as I first thought, in fact it looks like quite a big version of my target fish, those huge scales glimmering red right back at me. This looks a bit special - I switch my head torch to white light and shine it down into the net. Is that..... is that.... is it????? I turn the fish to get a full view of the flank and lift gently to gauge the weight. OH MY GOD, IT IS! The flank emerges from the water and I am greeted with the sight of what I believe to be the best looking known carp in the whole of the Nene Valley. Rosewood head and back, chestnut flanks, and the most beautiful, huge, irregular linear scales running down the the length of it's body. It looks like a dinosaur, prehistoric, it is the most beautiful carp I've ever seen. I secure the net on two bank sticks, unhook the fish, and let it rest while I sort myself out i.e. have a Fag to calm the nerves. I get a text from a friend asking how I got on, it's now 0600, I didn't realise I'd waited so long for that bite. My reply is that I got on OK of course, and he agrees to pop over to do the photos for me (legend!). Long story short, an hour later the suns up and we're gazing down at this unbelievably immense looking carp, it truly is a looker, and we agree it's the best looking fish either of us has seen in our lives. It weighs in @ 34.10, it's biggest ever weight, not a leviathan, but believe me when I say this capture is not about weight. It is just a stunning, stunning carp. Photos done (which came out amazing!), I sit back and soak up what little warmth the sun provides. I let the mat/net/sling etc dry out then pack up and go home. For many this would mean the end of their campaign, not me, there's a number of fish in here that I can make my new target, I can take my pick, and I can't wait to fish for them...... So check this out lads😮