As carp anglers, when we join a new lake, very often we have a handful of fish that are on our target list. Whether that's because they are the biggest in the lake, have a certain history about them or because they are completely unique, it varies from angler to angler. Sometimes these targets can evade us for years and other times, everything goes in our favour and we are fortunate enough to catch the fish we want early into the campaign.
When Lee Whiteley decided to rejoin a lake he had an 8 year hiatus from, there was one fish at the top of his list, a huge koi carp known as The Carrot. After just four sessions he managed to get his hands on this incredible looking carp, almost as if the lake was welcoming him back with open arms after them being apart for so long.
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"There are some spectacular fish that reside in this lake, which was a main reason I rejoined after so many years and The Carrot is a fish at the top of both my wish list and that of many other members," Lee told us.
"After a stressful week at work, I decided to get the rods out for my fourth trip to the syndicate, something I wasn’t planning to do until after my bodybuilding competition, but I needed to unwind," he added.
"Although the syndicate water is 65 acres and up to 37 feet deep in places, I just had a feeling that the big girls would be close in."
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Working on this hunch, Lee spent some time with his leading rod, looking for an area he felt confident in. After a few casts, he found a lovely, firmer spot between some silty areas, which he felt was perfect for presenting a bait. Unlike many anglers who prefer to fish all their rods on one spot, he opted to fish one rod here with a 12mm pop-up on his ever-faithful Spinner rig, while fishing the other two rods out in the lake to cover all options.
"I baited this rod with around 3kg of Hunter’s Baits SSK freebies, soaked in Liquid Bloodworm and salt, in the hope of stopping a bigger fish in its tracks," he explained.
“It worked, as around 4am the following morning, I woke to a single bleep before watching the alarm go into meltdown. I knew it was a good fish, and after a strong battle, she went over the cord."
"When I flicked on his head torch to get a better look, I was greeted by a bright orange flank reflecting back at me, and I knew instantly it was the one I was after,” he recalled.
"Thankfully, the angler next door was awake, and luckily he happened to be a talented photographer too. He assisted with the weighing, with the fish tipping the scales at 45lb 11oz, making The Carrot my new UK personal best."
“He did a superb job with the photos, giving me something to cherish the moment with forever,” Lee concluded.
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