July Catch Reports

[Joe Quinn]

On 17/07/2023 at 14:58, elmoputney said:

Well I am joining the July Party with the One and only BOX COMMON 😍

After my prebaiting efforts of the prior week, I arrived to find the chosen swim in use. I had a big long look around and couldn't really decide, one of my friends was having a cheeky stalking session and after a chat with him I decided to set up in "no carp corner" a couple up from my prebaited zone but I said I would wait til he had finished stalking before I thrashed the water with the MARKER FLOAT 😳

Got the bivvy up sorted the rods out and once a tench had destroyed his chances I found 3 niceish silty clear spots that felt pretty smooth, just got 2 rods baited and ready to go, when the phone rings, my wife has a car in limp mode about 20 miles away, eventually I realise I am going to have to save them. Leave my gear set up and it's to the rescue, had to drive it home and they went in my car, head back to the lake. 

it's about 6pm now 2 of the spots are fairly close to one another, so go with one each side of the marker rod. All 3 proper jobs on spinners the best rig for the job, then I catapult a good couple of kilos of boilies around the area. Nice it was only when I went to do the 3rd rod I realised I hadn't checked the pop up on the middle rod before I cast it out, I sorted my left rod out first cast to float then sent out the boat with a big heap of home made particles and some boilies, 

I left the middle rod for a while but the nagging won, it was nearly dark by then so I thought balls I'll send it out in the boat with a healthy dose of particles 😂

Nothing through the night and slept like a baby. 

Woke up to a nice sunrise, made a cuppa and was just settling back down for a little doze, when the middle rod (the one I had redone) burst into action, at first I thought it was a tench as there was little resistance then I caught up with it and I thought possibly a small carp, then I saw it, mid double common, bit of a tussle under the rod tip but thankfully I didn't realise what it was til I looked in the net and I thought that's a wide mid double. And it grew and grew until I said that's pretty blooming massive. 

Unhooked it and put it in the sling for a rest and got my bits together and put the rod back out etc. Asked my neighbour to come and take some photos for me he got some great ones, weighed it first 36lb it was then I knew I had the one, The Box Common, the biggest common in the lake and the one I thought I had previously lost, the one I chose to use a nut bait for this year and the one I thought I would probably never catch. But I blooming well did 🎉🎉🎉 down in weight a bit after spawning but I don't mind I am still buzzing 😂

Happy flipping days. 

 

Well done! Can’t imagine the fight that monster put up. Here in the USA, it’s extremely rare to find carp of that size living in the small lakes and ponds available for us carp anglers to fish in. We don’t have stocked venues (Like the UK/Europe) so I suppose it’s limited big rivers or some of the huge/Great Lakes we have in a few of our States. 
Awesome picture btw.