yonny

Realistically you're not upgrading mate. Assuming the Wychwood's still work you're not going to gain anything with the BW or the Soniks. I'd save up some cash and go for a genuine upgrade later.

So looking back at my catch reports it reminds me that it doesn't always go to plan. Over the course of that July I have an unforgivable 4 losses on the trot as the weed goes mental. I've not bothered pasting those reports here so we skip to the session where it starts to come good again. Only a small fish here but a very cool looking one imo. The report is short and reading it back, I should probs have had more this weekend. Fished the syndi this weekend. Found a few carp in a particularly weedy swim. Spent a while scaring them away with about a million casts trying to hit these tiny, tiny spots but some of them stayed as I had a couple of bites on Saturday morning. The first @ 06:00 I lost to a hook pull (4th loss on the trot 😣) but 09:30 saw a 24.08 lb mirror grace the net . Not the biggest but it was a proper minter, classically shaped with burnt auburn flanks, a black head and loads of tiny pin head scales dotted all over the place. Saturday night saw another 2 million casts getting the rods on these tiny spots but it was looking fantastic coming into bite time; liners galore from 03:00 onwards. Unfortunately with no cloud in the sky and the brightest of sunshine 06:00 saw all activity stop (where I was expecting the bites to start) and by 08:00 they were drifting about on the top in the shallow bays. So a tricky weekend tbh but I'm just happy to get a fish on the bank after a truly disastrous run of losses. I'm back next weekend so hopefully my new found luck will continue.

Same as I'd approach any water. Boilies/pellets until the carp tell me I need to change something.

You beat me to it, I was just about to type that lol.

Pretty much same here. I'll not bother with doubles but I think it's nice to track growth of the future bigguns.

So after the common I was limited to a couple of afternoons/overnighters due to a trip to Cuba with the Mrs, this took us into July. The fish I caught on this trip is an absolutely awesome looking kipper and was a bit dissapointed with the photos tbh (dodgy self-takes) but there you go. Enjoy: Since catching the big common last month I've only managed a couple of overnighters on the bank and while I've not caught anything I've put the time to good use through observation. It's become clear all this hot weather had changed the habits of the fish and while they've been easy to find in the day it's not been so easy to catch them in those areas. I had a pretty good idea of where they could be caught having watched their movements during my short sessions. On Saturday I was able to get out for another overnighter, only one car in the car park when I showed up, lovely...... As usual i found them straight away in a particular area but with the knowledge gained from previous sessions I knew that setting up on top of them was not the one. It really does take a leap of faith to walk away from a swim in which there's clearly loads of carp but that's exactly what I did, instead choosing to head towards the area I suspected they were feeding in. The swim I chose looked, for lack of a better word, completely dead, and I couldn't help but wonder about my sanity as I set up. I took advantage of the absence of carp by having a really good lead about, and after an hour or two I had the swim mapped and found what is probably the best spot I've ever found on this water; it was rock hard, clearly something had been digging around, a natural feeding area maybe? Confidence for the night ahead increased as did the amount of bait I planned to put in. Out comes the spod and 3 kg of boilie and pellet later I whack the hook baits out and sit down with a cold beer. I was a little restless during the day and evening I have to admit, normally I'd be up trees, on the move, looking, searching...... but on this occasion I suspected the hard work was done and I just had to sit tight until bite time.... around 5 - 7 am. As it got dark I saw a few fish moving which suggested that my thoughts on location might be correct. I stayed up quite late and at around 1 am I got my head down having seen the odd fish but not as much as I'd hoped. At 3:30 am the rod on the new spot signals a twitchy take and I'm on it in seconds only to be disappointed that it's a tench. The moon is almost full and the sun is threatening to breach the horizon already so it's light enough to recast immediately. Two attempts and it's bang on the spot. Back to bed. I'm struggling to sleep so by 4 am I'm back out of the bag just having a 'quick look' for carp (one of those quick looks that goes on for the rest of the day lol). I know I need more sleep but bite time is approaching and I want to see what develops. I see very little, a few tench, and I'm getting worried that my theory is completely wrong so doubts start creeping in.... wrong spot? too much bait? etc, etc.... until about 5 am when I see a carp pop its head out maybe 10 yards behind the new spot. And another.... And another.... The next couple of hours is brilliant, I see a bunch of carp head-and-shouldering behind my spot and they appear to be getting nearer. At about 6 am I see one of the real monsters nut out, defo a 40+, and I'm smoking like a chimney trying to stay calm. It gets later, and later and before I know it 7 am is approaching which tends to signal the end of bite time..... and the sightings are starting to slow down. It hits 7 am and I've not seen one for a while, I'm guessing my chance has gone, very disappointing, so I head back to the brolly to see if I can sleep. I lay down and.... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE..... off it goes! Into the waders and I hit it - straight into the weed and it's locked up. I've just moved to drop off leads however (don't normally like to drop them but a lot of fish are being lost recently so it's mandated) which helps no end. I tease it out with relative ease and pump it back. I have to say it behaves well once hooked and the fight aint spectacular, which I'm not complaining about with all this weed around. Within 30 yards it's up near the surface and I tease it over the absolutely savage marginal weed beds and straight into the waiting net. Sigh of relief, job done, get in! Peering into the net I see it's a proper looker, a very dark double row linear, clearly a male fish, torpedo shaped, long and solid. Good size too, maybe a 30.... It turns out he's one of the oldest fish in the lake, one of the originals, been fished for since the first anglers hit this lake, a slow grower that's been steadily increasing in size over many years. He's a rare one, a once a year fish at most, so I'm feeling rather pleased as you can imagine. On the scales he goes 30 lb 6 oz, the first time it's done 30, which adds to my good mood. The fish looks awesome in the morning sun, black down it's back, rosewood down it's flanks, and an almost mustard shade to it's belly. It's top half is like a fully scaled, as is it's front end and tail, with just a broad area either side of it's belly clear of these big golden scales. They really do not come much nicer that this, I'm well happy, so I take one last look before sending him back. The view of him snaking his way back out through the marginal weed forest is pretty breathtaking. Lovely. I hang around hoping for a late morning bite which doesn't happen so I go home. Job done, happy days, I bloomin' love carp angling........

I also saw this article and it looks like the kind of thing I'd do to save a few grams, but like you, I just assumed it wouldn't save that much.

Valid point. It's not like rigs that get replaced after every bite or session. The leader might stay on all season.

As said above, you need to go for sleeves to fit the beads on. Beads that grip the leader without a sleeve will struggle to get over the splice/knot so you have a safety issue. The Korda ones recommended by framey and dayvid are the ones. Very good indeed.

Yeah everyone that uses short rods speaks of these swims but in 25 years I've never found a spot anywhere in which I haven't been able to fish with a 12 ft rod. I might need waders to land them, but I've literally never found a spot I can't put a bait on with the 12's.

For stalking I just use one of my 12 ft carp rods.

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

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.

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!

I think Astra appeared in the Loftus chapter in one of Tels books?

This is awesome mate. Not a bad sesh for January lol! It would have been easy to ommit some of those details and I'm glad you didn't. That's what it was like back then innit. Excellent read and fantastic fish.

I've seen the same. I though it was a massive otter at first lol.

Yeah man!!

Me too. I'd dearly love to hear the stories behind some of those kippers in the catch report/blog section (hint, hint). Especially some of the old Dinton fish. They are too cool to be kept quiet😁

Natural causes mate. The originals in there are getting on. Nothing lasts forever I suppose.

There was actually more to the story. I'd missed out this bit as I'd not wanted to document private syndicate business on the forum. I'd found my target common (a mid 40) dead in the reeds on the 3rd day. I was gutted and nearly went home but decided to stick it out and carry on for one last night. How glad am I that I made the decision lol.

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😮

I find most softer baits break up past 70 odd yards. Wet the tip of the stick or, better still, pour a little bit of water onto your baits. It'll stop them from splitting in flight. I am not aware of any base mix changes buddy.