For the majority of carp anglers in the UK, catching a fish breaching the 60lb barrier is the ultimate goal and although there are more carp of this size now than ever before, they are still incredibly rare and very few can say they have slipped the net under a UK 60.
Ben Sellers is one angler who has recently joined the exclusive 60's club, when on a session to Old Mill Lakes, he experienced some great fishing, landing numerous fish over the duration of his stay with a carp known as Pitchers topping the session weighing a colossal 60lb 2oz.
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"After a busy few months at work, I needed some downtime, so I headed over to the fantastic Birch Lake on the Old Mill Lakes complex," Ben told us.
"These lakes are always busy which is a credit to the owner, Chris, and his family for creating such a great fishery full of big fish. It can make things challenging for the angler, but there are always opportunities," he added.
After arriving at the lake around 4pm, Ben completed a few laps before noticing some activity near one of the marker poles out in the lake. Despite it not being one of the known or popular swims, he wasn’t willing to let the opportunity pass, quickly loading up the barrow and heading over to make the most of what he had seen.
"This lake often produces bites as the evening draws in, so I was in a hurry to get the rods out before dark. Thankfully, they went out perfectly, and with the fish still in the area, I felt confident something might happen!"
"Around 2am, I woke up to the middle rod melting off from the spot where I’d seen the fish. After a spirited battle, I slipped the net under a chunky 39lb 10oz mirror, what a start!"
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Buzzing after a strong start, nothing else followed that morning, and Ben began to get impatient. When fishing Birch, he firmly believes that you need to stay mobile and move to stay on the fish so after sitting behind motionless rods all day, he couldn't wait any longer and loaded the gear back onto the barrow.
"I moved into a swim known as Shallow Bay, which is usually empty as it's often overlooked by anglers that come here. I've personally had great success in here and always stop to check if any fish are holding up out of the way of the pressure from the rest of the lake and sure enough, I saw the reeds knocking."
"I got one rod over to the reeds, and I barely had time to finish a second coffee before it was away with a 26lb scaley banger."
"While the move paid off, they always seem to move out of the area once one gets caught, so I had to start planning for my final 24 hours, knowing the swim was probably done."
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Fishing off the barrow again, Ben was quickly on the move after his quick result, and with limited options left around the lake, he settled into a swim known as Steps Two. While it wouldn’t have been his first choice, it has been known to produce the occasional bigger fish and with darkness approaching, he decided to setup for the night ahead.
"I’m on the chase for the Big Common that resides in the lake. I've been fishing birch for a number of years now and I want to catch it again as it is huge now. The fish has been known to come out of this area in the past, so I thought it was worth a go despite there being very little activity."
"The liners started at around 4:45 am, which woke me up. Struggling to get back to sleep, I put the first coffee of the morning on and with that, the rod was away with an awesome-looking 33lb mirror."
"Thinking the session was coming to an end that morning, my boss rang and gave me the green light to take the week off, as I was getting into a few fish. I called Jo to check availability so I could extend my session and thankfully, I was able to stay."
"I decided to sit on my hands and stay in the swim, as the lake was getting busier and it just felt right as the wind had swung around and was now blowing into my bank."
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Ben applied some Trent Baits boilies into the swim and left it for a few hours before getting the rods out. Despite the afternoon passing without a fish, his friend Levi, in the swim next door, was catching a few and called him over for assistance, as he had a good fish in the net. While walking back to his bivvy to grab a few bits to help take some photos, Ben was interrupted by the sound of the bobbin cracking against his blank.
"When I lifted into the fish, I knew instantly it was a good one. The fish didn’t move using its weight to try and shake the rig free and I couldn’t budge it."
"After around ten minutes of the fish plodding along the lakebed, I managed to get it up to the surface and it was colossal. Levi had returned the favour and was now in my swim to assist and when he bundled it into the net, we both knew exactly which fish it was!"
"I was in shock, I had landed Pitchers. We both knew I had my first UK 60 in the net and I can’t even describe what that felt like!"
"The rest of the session passed in a bit of a blur, but I finished with seven carp, making it a truly unforgettable session."
"Huge thanks to Chris and family for creating such a fantastic fishery, I'll be back for the Big Common soon."
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