BUILDER Rob Allen had a blank first night so decided to bait heavily and the unusual winter tactic was spot on for this 47 lb 2 oz common carp.
Rob’s mega common carp came during a session at Oxfordshire’s Christchurch Lake on the Linch Hill complex. He offered a home-made Sticky Baits Manila hook bait fished over 1 kg of crumbed freebies mixed with 2.5 kg of hemp and snails.
Latchford, Cheshire-based Rob, 34, said: “The first night I didn’t introduce any bait at all, but the following day, I planned to get some out set the traps and just wait.
“So I did just that, an I introduced a lot more bait than anticipated. I thought I’d overdone it but I wasn’t fussed as it was out there ready for a week in a storm.
“Night soon came round and at 10pm I put on the kettle but two minutes later the right-hand bobbin pulled up tight.
Testing battle with giant common carp
“The fish was coming in quite easily just healthy plodding and I knew I was into a big girl, and as she got closer she just went mental, taking one of my other lines with it.
“Nothing was stopping it – she just stripped line and line and line.
“Eventually I managed to turn her, I was shaking with the thought of losing this fish as I was also pulling in another line with the fish on the surface, I knew I was in trouble.
“I began shouting to Jack Swindells in the next swim to get the boat but there was no reply, so I quickly took off the alarm on the caught rod and let the fish go. I then weaved the rod under the other to hope I’d done enough and it had come free.
“After ten minutes of epic battle I slipped her over the net cord. It was the Box Common and I was blown away!” he grinned.
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