Fishing for carp on our rivers offers far greater challenges than their stillwater counterparts do. The populations of river carp are often very small and very nomadic, and with miles upon miles of water to travel along, finding them can be almost impossible, let alone catching them.
Catching a big fish over 30lb is a feat very few manage to accomplish, especially those anglers who aren't fishing rivers the more notable carp rivers like the Thames. Fish of this size are often incredibly old, can be very wary and have had to outsmart anglers, boaters, flooding incidents and predators to get to the size they are. Even the fish that escape lakes and find their way into the river behave completely differently due to the extra pressures of their new environment.
In just the last few weeks, we have seen a surge of big fish being reported to us, in what has been a remarkable month for carp fishing on rivers all over the country. To highlight the efforts some anglers go to in an attempt to bank these carp, Chris Walton finally managed to land one from his local River Nene after 30 years of trying to do so.
"Despite this, I’ve kept putting the time in, holding on to the hope of one day finally landing a river thirty, with my previous best being just ounces short at 29lb 12oz. This year, I decided to throw everything at it."
"I started off with a prebaiting campaign, doing a 40-mile round trip every other evening to put in 5 litres of hemp, maples, and a couple of kilos of Dynamite’s Peppered Squid. It didn’t take long for the hard work to pay off, as on my fourth session, I had my first twenty in the net. My next fish was a repeat capture, which was slightly disappointing, as it suggested there were only a couple of fish on the bait," he added.
Chris held on to the hope that more fish were in the area, and the following Sunday, he arrived at the swim around 4pm for his sixth evening session. Night fishing isn’t allowed on this stretch, so anglers must vacate the water two hours after sunset, making things that little bit more challenging.
"Things were relatively quiet until about 8:30pm, when I had a couple of knocks on my right-hand rod before the baitrunner started giving line."
"I couldn’t believe it when the scales pulled round to 37lb 6oz! I’d finally realised my dream and smashed through the 30lb barrier, and what a beautiful creature to achieve it with. I remember shaking from the rush after returning the fish, while just sitting there in disbelief for about half an hour."
"I wasn’t going to put my rigs back in, but my fishing partner Billy pointed out we still had a good hour and a half of fishing left before we had to be off. With his persuasion, I re-baited and re-cast the rod and unbelievably banked another fish at 35lb 9oz!"
THE BEST CARP RODS WILL HELP YOU LAND THE FISH OF YOUR DREAMS.
Tom Perkins set himself the target of a 30lb carp from the River Soar over five years ago and this weekend, he finally achieved his goal!
"I flicked both rods out to a prebaited area, both on 3 Foot Twitch Specimen Baits Redemption, snowman style, with mesh bags of mixed size and crumbed Redemption," he told us.
"All was quiet until just after midnight the receiver sounded and the bobbin started to bounce with what I assumed was probably a bream," he added.
"After a mega battle that seemed to go on forever, a big framed common popped up and the misses slipped the net under it for me. Looking at it in the net I knew this was a special fish."
"The fish was rested while we sorted the gear ready for weighing and photos. We hoisted it up and the scales spun round and past the magical 30lb mark, before settling at 31lb 10oz! Buzzing!"
"After 5 years of trying, finally holding my target made for a night I won’t forget, and to have my partner Ruby there to share the moment made it even more special," he concluded.
IF YOU HAVE NEVER CAUGHT A RIVER CARP, HERE ARE SOME EXCELLENT TIPS TO HELP.
Benjamin Bromley bought a boat at the end of last summer to night fish from, and being completely new to river fishing, he spent the rest of the year learning the ropes. Despite being on a steep learning curve, he still managed to catch a 15lb ghost carp before pulling the boat out for the winter in October.
"Once the boat was back in the river in April, I made the most of the close season by exploring new spots and getting some prebaiting done. When the season opened, I had a quiet start catching bream, chub, and a couple of barbel, but nothing major."
"That changed on Monday 8 July. I decided to fish overnight before work and set my alarm for 6am. I was woken just after midnight by a bream take, reset everything, and went back to bed. When my alarm went off, I opened my eyes to what I thought was another blank… until I heard a couple of single bleeps from the receiver."
"Assuming it was another bream, I went out to bring the rods in—but as I opened the boat door, I saw the right-hand rod tip twitching. I picked it up and felt solid weight straight away. After a strong battle in the flow, I managed to net a proper lump."
"Lifting the net, I knew instantly this fish was big. The scales read 34lb 8oz, smashing my PB! I re-weighed it twice in disbelief and managed to grab a few quick photos before slipping her back safely."
"Even though I had terrible bed hair, it didn’t matter, it was an unforgettable moment and a truly special, unknown carp from our own river."
IF YOU DON'T OWN A BOAT, A FISHING BIVVY WILL HELP KEEP YOU SHELTERED!
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