NICK CLEGG almost doubled his personal best carp with this stunning 61 lb 2 oz common in a brilliant week for huge carp.
The politician namesake tempted the fish – called Lee Jackson after the former British record holder – from Strawberry Fields in Kent. It was Nick’s first ever visit to the tiny day ticket venue near Tunbridge Wells.
The 30-year-old team manager from Horley, Surrey, explained: “My good friend James Coleman told me he wanted to treat me to a little gem of a fishery.
“He booked a 24 hour session and the weather was crisp and clear, the temperature on the rise.
“We decided to have an evening meal together and we heard fish rolling over in my swim. I had a good feeling.”
Long and thick specimen
Nick continued: “When I struck into the fish that night it felt big. I set the drag and let it run, keeping the pressure on and letting the rod tip do the work.
“It seemed like forever until it went into the net. As soon as he saw it my friend said you’ve got Lee Jackson.
“The size of this fish shocked me, he was so long and thick from above. It almost looked as though he was too big for my landing net.
“When it weighed in at 61 lb 2 oz I couldn’t believe it. From a PB of 33 lb to over 60 lb.
“Lee Jackson doesn’t come out very often and I was the lucky angler to have him grace my net,” he added.
It was tempted on a Nash 4G Squid pop-up boilie fished just off bottom over a couple handfuls of crumbed boilies put in every few hours.
The giant carp’s heaviest capture was by Leanne Jaynes back in the autumn, when she landed it at a new lake record of 63 lb 4 oz and can be traced back to when it was 5 lb 8 oz just under 20 years ago. It was born in the lake and not part of any stockings.
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