With each year that passes, fish in the UK seem to be growing bigger and bigger, with carp being no different, often surpassing what we thought possible just a decade ago. Whether it is a combination of warmer summers, improvements in the nutrition of our baits, better fishery management or a combination of all three, we can't say for sure, only that anglers are banking enormous carp without needing to travel to the continent.
RH Fisheries is at the forefront of this big-carp boom, even establishing a state-of-the-art indoor rearing facility to produce fish for their fisheries, where visiting anglers have a genuine shot at catching truly monster carp.
Jon Swift is the latest angler to testify to the success of this mantra, as on his most recent session to RH Avenue Fishery, he banked one of the biggest carp ever to be caught in the UK at a truly staggering 70lb 2oz. This particular carp was stocked into the lake over 20 years ago and with the current growth rate, Sweet Cheeks as she is more affectionally known, could well become the largest the country has ever produced.
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"I’ve been fishing The Avenue for a few years now, and I absolutely love the place. Knowing the size of the fish in the lake and how beautiful the setting is, it’s hard to beat," Jon told us.
"On this particular session, I had that feeling anglers sometimes get that a big fish was going to come out," he added.
"As I often do, I started by putting in 20 Spombs of pellet and chopped/full Simply Red boilies to kick the swim off."
"While we’re required to use RH Baits on The Avenue, I’ve also taken it to venues like Parco and other big-fish waters in France, and I’ve had incredible results there too, it’s a bait I’ve got total confidence in."
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As soon as Jon hooked into the fish, he could tell from the slow, deliberate plods on the rod tip that he was into one of the lake’s bigger residents. Drawing on his experience, he carefully coaxed the fish back toward the bank, and before long, a massive carp surfaced before it was safely resting in the mesh of his net.
"When I pulled back the mesh, I couldn't believe what I was looking at! I recently landed a huge carp in Italy at 69lb 12oz, and I just knew this fish was even bigger," Jon recalled.
"Sure enough, when we hoisted her onto the scales, it confirmed my thoughts, I had caught a 70lb 2oz UK carp."
"I'm still struggling to comprehend what happened, but in that moment, I realised my fishing life had changed forever."
"I'm so happy for Rob, Harry, and everyone at RH Fisheries. The work they put into their fishery management is second to none, and these guys are making anglers' dreams come true."
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