21 August 2016 – Catch Report from: Neil and Charmaine

An amazing fishing experience for this lovely couple on their first visit to the venue with carp to 37lbs

This week we had the great pleasure of welcoming a very nice couple from the Forest of Dean. Neil is a very technically and tactically astute angler and I was interested to see how he’d get on. Tired from the journey, Neil didn’t start fishing until Sunday evening. At 10.30 pm he had a taste of what was to come as he connected with one of our big cats. Unfortunately it found sanctuary and despite his best efforts from the boat it never saw the bank. With the weather being so warm, Neil knew that it would be a waste of time trying for a day time pick up which left plenty of time for trips out to local towns and restaurants. Baiting up before heading off helped build the carp’s confidence and after a full night with rigs on the money he picked up Nicky at a top weight of 37lbs early on Monday morning.

Tuesday morning he was in again and this time had our big grassy ready to be netted when it made a powerful dash and the hook pulled. Grass carp are notorious for their searing runs under the tip and will absolutely hate being netted! His luck changed on Wednesday morning when he had a double take from his two spots along snake bank. With the help of Charmaine, he banked both Fugly just below the 30lb mark and Planets at 32lbs.

Then things started to get a bit too exciting with pickups from very powerful cats that managed to get the wrong side of the island. Again Neil bravely took to the boat in pursuit but the cat was way too strong for him and his gear and eventually the 20lb mainline failed. It’s fair to say that Neil was really shocked by the power of these beasts and at times felt quite powerless to exert any form of control. They are quite capable of doing the entire length of the lake even with a fully locked up clutch on a quality big pit carp reel. Fortunately Neil and his girlfriend absolutely loved the place, loved the challenge and the whole experience. It’s great to know that they will be returning in the future.