For the majority of carp anglers, one or two bites would be considered a great session, with blanks happening far more often than most are willing to admit. Every now and again however, persistence pays off and we are rewarded with the session of a lifetime, which is exactly what happened when Liam Timothy visited Holme Fen recently. A trip that saw him land an incredible number of big carp.
Despite the growing number of larger fish in this country, landing a UK 40 is still a dream for the majority of the anglers who target carp, and landing just one would make their entire season. You can therefore imagine the elation, when Liam went on to land six fish over the magical 40lb barrier during a lake-exclusive booking with some friends.
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"This was my first time fishing a large, low stock venue as I'm normally on more commercial, day ticket lakes. The main aim for the week was to just get a bite and go from there," Liam told us.
"After arriving on site, we all did a lap of the lake and despite seeing very little, I did notice two small patches of bubbles in front of a swim called 'Jakes'," he added.
"I knew that Jakes was going to be high on people's lists, but luckily, most people before me in the draw opted to fish the main body of the lake."
Before the draw, the venue’s owner informed the group that no fish had come out of Jake’s in the week leading up to their session, and while this information might have put some anglers off, Liam saw it as an opportunity. He rested his hopes on the belief that a few fish may have began to settle in the area and, combined with the activity he’d spotted while walking the lake, made the decision to set up in that swim for the week ahead.
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"On the first night at around 2am I landed my first fish at 25lb 8oz. It certainly wasn't a monster for the lake, but I was over the moon to get my first fish from the venue and it gave me the confidence that I had made the right decision," he explained.
"A few hours later after the sun came up, I landed another two fish at 42lb 10oz and 40lb 8oz, and over the next two days, I landed another five fish up to a two-tone mirror at 39lb 4oz, it was really turning into an unforgettable session," Liam recalled.
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Unlike most anglers who usually want to maximise their time with rigs in the water when fishing, Liam cleverly chose to rest his swim during the day. By winding in at midday before applying some bait, it allowed the fish to come in and feed with less caution. He would then cast back out at 6pm, which kept the bites coming and seemingly, enabled him to keep the bigger fish feeding in his swim.
"Even with the dense weed growth, I didn't lose a single fish, which has only grown my confidence in the PB products Control Mono, Jellywire, and especially the wide circle hooks," he said.
"The final tally at the end of the week was 15 fish, with 5 x 20's, 4 x 30's, and 6 x 40's, with the two biggest fish both going 42lb 10oz!"
"An incredible week on an incredible venue, and one I'd love to return to as I now have unfinished business with a 50+ in there. What an epic session and certainly one to remember," he concluded.
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