ON his first crucian trip of the year, Warrington angler Gary Knowles hit the jackpot with this 4lb 1oz personal best.
Rather than follow the crowds and head south to the crucian stillwater hotspots in Surrey, Gary stayed a lot closer to home and visited a scenic six-acre Shropshire pool, where he’s enjoyed good results in the past.
He selected a swim and fed two lines – one out in front, where he fished the float, the other on a Method feeder set-up down the right-hand margin close to some overhanging trees and sunken roots.
Knowing his best window of opportunity was between 11pm and 4am, rather than piling in the feed and going to bed Gary worked his swim through the night, keeping a steady stream of Sonubaits F1 corn, 2mm pellets and casters going in every 30 minutes.
Just after dark he had a two-pounder on the float, before he noticed a couple of swirls over his right-hand rod. Around midnight, that one was away, and he landed a cracking fish of 3lb 10oz. Thirty minutes later, after recasting and rebaiting, the same rod signalled another bite.
The fish stripped line and convinced Gary he was into a carp. But by the time he had it under the rod-tip, it was swimming in the crucian’s ‘signature circles’, and Gary’s nerves started jangling when his headtorch illuminated a deep-bodied fish.
On the scales, it sent the needle round to 4lb 1oz, leaving Gary unsurprisingly happy with his night’s work. An 8mm scopex wafter was the winning hookbait, fished alongside Match Method Mix groundbait.
