Catch Reports 2009 page 2
Somerset duo smash personal bests!
Phil Whiterod from Bridgwater, Somerset decided to make the long trip to Sandhurt lake in search of a new personal best, which ironically came from the same venue two years previously when he banked a 34lb 4oz common. On this occasion however Phil smashed his previous best by over 5lbs to catch this pristine looking common of 39lb 9oz.
A recently released yellow B5 Fluoro pop-up proved to be the downfall of the big common, but if that wasn’t enough excitement for one trip, elsewhere on the same venue, Phil’s fishing buddy Stuart Aspin, also from Somerset, was doing battle with a big fish himself. Stuart’s fish turned out to be an immaculate 39lb 6oz mirror and as was the case with Phil, a new PB to boot!! The big mirror fell to a Shellfish B5 bottom bait glugged in our black pepper liquid food and fished over a bed of B5 free offerings.
What a session that turned out to be! Two good mates, two PB’s and no doubt two happy anglers making the long trip back. It looks like the B5 has once again proved how effective it is at targeting the bigger fish.
Click on images to enlarge
It’s forties galore as the B5 banks yet another big UK brace!
Mike Edgeworth recently had a night’s fishing on a local gravel pit that he will remember for a very long time, after all, it’s not often you will get two carp totalling over 80lb your landing net at the same time! It all took off during the small hours of the morning when Mike had a blistering take which resulted in a very powerful fish tearing up and down the lake. Eventually he managed to tame what was obviously a very big fish and coax it into his waiting net. He then bit through his line and was about to carry his prize on to the waiting mat when his other rod roared into action!
He managed to stand on his landing net pole during the fight to prevent the first fish from escaping and after another hard scrap, finally managed to net the second fish alongside the first one! After calling for some assistance the two fish were removed and weighed. The second fish netted was a 33lb 8oz common and the first one in the net was this absolutely immaculate 47lb mirror (right). Top B5 bombing Mikey – again!
Target accomplished
Following a successful campaign on a large Cornish reservoir Chris Douce from Plymouth has been targeting a Devon estate lake in search of a big elusive common that resides in the picturesque venue. His efforts were recently rewarded however when he banked the immaculate fish at a spawned out weight of 37.06. This was the first time the fish had been caught this year but as always, the temptation of a very good food source coupled with good angling ability eventually led to its downfall.
Chris used Shellfish B5 boilies to track down the elusive common and caught a number of other good carp from the venue before he nailed the long lean specimen. Excellent angling by the west-country based carper and congratulations from everyone at Essential.
Another forty
Consistent big carp catcher Rick Golder has been in the thick of the action once again and has recently notched up yet another big fish on his CV. His latest victim was this classic looking 40lb 8oz mirror (right) caught from an undisclosed surrey pit, which took him over 30-mins to land following an immense scrap.
This was Rick’s second forty since April, during which time he has banked three different 37’s and 5 other thirties from the lake. All of the fish have fallen to Shellfish B5 boilies and most of the carp have been caught during short overnight sessions before work!
Back with a bang!
After a short break from the big carp scene following his capture of the Black Mirror, Essential bait boss Mike Willmott wasted no time getting back into the swing of things by banking his latest target fish in the shape of this immaculate 37lb 3oz mirror (above right) from a very tricky undisclosed venue. Such was the carp’s confidence in the bait, when he went to remove the hook, he found it was lodged over 10” back and had to borrow a pair of 12” pike forceps to remove it!!
A number of other good fish have fallen to Mike and Lee following a pre-baiting campaign at the low stocked water, with the latest being a lovely dark chestnut coloured mirror that Mike believes is one of the best looking carp he’s ever seen!
Unfortunately on a sad note, the otters seem to be catching just as many carp from the venue as they are and having had first hand experience of otters on their own lake as well as Ashlea Pool, Mike believes it’s only a matter of time before these fish are wiped out.
Footnote: Mike has recently started a new mini series of articles in Carpworld for anyone interested and part one appears in the July issue.
Yet more B5 Success
There’s not many anglers that can boast they have had more than fifteen UK forties, but Glos big fish angler Martin Finan is certainly one of them. Furthermore, every single one of them has fallen to the incredible B5, and if that doesn’t tell you that the B5 is a phenomenal big fish bait, we don’t know what does!
Martin’s latest success came in the shape of this immaculate 41lb 2oz mirror during an overnight session on a large gravel pit and was the biggest fish out of the pit so far this season. He has since returned to the lake to catch a brace of thirty pound plus commons but no prizes for guessing what bait he had them on!!
Horseshoe Haul on B5
Chay Williams from Somerset recently had a session to remember at Horseshoe lake in Glos. Chay arrived during a very quiet spell with very few fish coming out, however, he soon found himself notching up an impressive tally of fish that included twelve fish over 20lbs topped by a magnificent common of 37lb 8oz!
Chay fished the Lagoon swim in Winter Bay and fished 100-yards to a small gravel patch in a gap between the far tree lined margins. During his session Chay introduced a total of 6kg 16mm Shellfish B5 boilies, whilst topping up the spots between each capture to keep them feeding. Top B5 bombing Chay, yet further proof that the B5 is the bait to use when the going gets tough!
Welcome back!!
Essential Bait boss Mike Willmott is having a tremendous year with a number of big fish from various venues including a few UK river systems, however, his latest big hit tops the lot! Mike has recently turned back time and re-visited a large gravel pit that he used to fish many years ago, and what a welcome back present he had! On his very first session he managed to bank an immaculate 38lb mirror (1st image) which at the time was the biggest fish to be caught from the venue so far this season, however, little did he know what was in store for him on his next trip!
The following week Mike returned for his second session on the venue, and what a memorable session it turned out to be! Fishing over beds Shellfish B5 boilies and matching B5 pellets to a marginal slope at 90-yards he managed to bank two forties!! The first being a stunning leathery type mirror of 48lb 8oz (2nd image) followed by an immaculate mirror of 41lb 2oz (3rd image) which hadn’t seen the bank for 3-years! As you would expect Mike used his favourite bait, Shellfish B5, and fished over beds of 16mm and 20mm boilies at various ranges to nail each of the fish.
Rigs included single 20mm B5 bottom bait mounted blowback style to size 6 Gardner Mugga hooks, 5-inches 25lb Gardner Sink-Skin hooklinks and 3.5oz semi-fixed leads. Each fish fell to 3kg mixed sized (16mm and 20mm)B5 boilies and matching B5 pellets. Rods were 12ft 3.75tc Daiwa Infinity Magnum’s coupled with Daiwa Tournament Basiair reels loaded with 16lb mono.
Footnote: Whilst compiling this report Mike has since returned to the venue to catch yet another whacker! Once again the B5 doing the business to catch this awesome looking mirror of 35lb 10oz (4th image)
