Catch Reports 2009
A Common Occurrence!
Gary King has been fishing for carp for over 26-years, but until recently has never had a thirty pound carp grace his net. We think it’s fair to point out however that Gary probably fishes less in a year than most carp anglers do in a month!
The elusive thirty pound barrier was soon put well and truly behind him this winter though when he caught the two biggest commons in the lake on consecutive trips! The first was a deep chunky common that settled bang on the 30lb mark, whilst the second was a long lean specimen that recorded a weight of 30lb 2oz.
Considering the long hard winter we’ve just had, with most lakes freezing up for long periods of time, two cracking winter thirty commons are a right result in anyone’s book, let alone when you’ve waited 26-years for them! Both of the big commons tripped up on the cold water version of the legendary Shellfish B5 – as you would expect!
Click on images to enlarge
Lake record Brace
Lee Woodman decided to put in his final 24-hour session of the season on his local syndicate water and what a session it turned out to be! Having landed 3 different 30lb plus commons and a 40lb plus mirror during his angling career, Lee had never banked a 30lb mirror – but all that was about to change!!
Having only had his baits in the water for a few hours, his left hand rod ripped off and following a very hard scrap, eventually managed to slip his net under an immaculate 33lb 8oz mirror to add to his CV. Less than 24-hours later Lee was packing down his kit ready for the off when one of his remaining buzzers burst into life, and after another very hard scrap yet another large mirror lay sulking in the bottom of his net. This one went 33lbs exactly!
The duo of big mirrors recorded a new lake record brace of 66lb 8oz and just like all of Lee’s previous big fish captures, the Shellfish B5 was responsible for their downfall.
Rick’s back!
Following a few months break from fishing, Essential Baits stalwart and well know big fish angler Rick Golder has decided to get the rods back out, and it certainly didn’t take him long to get back amongst the big fish! Opting to use our Creamseed frozen ready-mades with a Black Pepper combo, Rick visited a Surrey gravel pit for an ‘overnighter’ before work, and soon found himself locked in battle with a stunning mirror of 37lb 8oz. Welcome back Rick!
Note: Just as we compile this catch report, we’ve had a call from Rick to say he’s been out again and nailed another ‘thirty-seven’! You can’t keep a good man down.
Stunning Big Common falls to ‘The Squid’!
Charlie Goult isn’t wasting much time getting to grips with the new Natural Squid after catching this immaculate 35lb 10oz common just 2-hours before his winter ticket run out! This is the first time Charlie has put the new bait through its paces after being a long term fan of the B5 and Creamseed, but we have a feeling it won’t be the last!
The stunning ‘woodcarving-like’ common picked up a hook bait presented amongst 100 free offerings during a very slow period on the lake, which just goes to show that a good quality bait applied correctly will continue to produce the goods when other baits struggle. Well done Charlie, a much deserved result following a difficult year personally.
A switch to B5 produces two Monster Commons!
We need to keep the details of this one a bit hush hush due to publicity restrictions and water protection but David Bishop has recently had an unbelievable result by banking two different 40+ commons!
The bigger of the two commons weighed in at 45lb and was a fish that Dave had been chasing for the past 4-years to no avail. He therefore decided to switch over to our Shellfish B5 in the hope that a high quality food bait would change his fortunes and it certainly did! In no time at all the elusive big common was sulking in the bottom of his net – job done!
Dave is in no doubt that the B5 played a big role in the downfall of the monster common and decided to use the same bait on a different venue to track down yet another big common. After a period of bait introduction the result was never really in doubt, but unbelievably, Dave managed to nail the big common on his very first night!! It went 42lb 8oz and capped a memorable period in his angling career.
Well angled that man. Top B5 common bombing! Further proof (as if needed!) that the B5 is streets ahead of any other bait on the market in terms of both its attractor package and its nutritional value.
More short session success for Rick
Following Rick Golder’s success last month, the Berkshire based fish catching machine has been at it again! His latest success resulted in this cracking 37lb linear (top right) and a 41lb 1oz mirror (below right) during another one of his ‘overnight assault missions’. Rick’s overnight sessions are usually proceeded by a day’s work but we often wonder how he manages to keep his eyes open following such sleepless nights, and like his mate ‘Big George’ says, “He ain’t no spring chicken either”!
Rick has only done 7-nights fishing since his return to the bank after a short break, but during this time has already managed to accumulate a 25, three 37’s and a 41. Although last month Rick was doing the damage on the Creamseed, now temperatures have warmed up he’s switched back to the B5 and has proved what most anglers already know……… when it comes to nailing the big fish week after week, there isn’t anything out there that comes even close to the B5.
Stunning – just stunning!
Martin Finan’s incredible list of big fish captures just seems to get better and better! Fishing a difficult Southern gravel pit, it was only 13-months ago that he smashed the lake record with a huge 54lb mirror, followed by a hat-trick of forties, but he’s now been at it again!! Read it and weep!
During the past year Martin has concentrated his efforts on to a certain area of the lake in pursuit of an extremely elusive ‘leathery’ type mirror that has only ever been caught on a handful of times during the past 20-years. Having seen the great fish frustratingly cleaning up his free offerings on a number of occasions, and with the season running out of time, the big fish maestro finally managed to nail the monster at a staggering weight of 52lb 10oz!! A new fifty for the venue and of course for Martin himself.
As if all that wasn’t enough, during the same session he also managed to bank a 33lb 8oz mirror followed by one of the most stunning looking carp you will ever see, a 37lb 2oz perfect linear which visits the bank even less than the big mirror! All the fish fell to the legendary B5, which just keeps on nailing the big fish time and time again.
Mike sent Martin the following message on the evening before the capture:
“Encouraging to see he's on the 'money'. Not long now but still time. One
moment's mistake for a lifetime of memories! Don't forget to call me”
The call came the following morning!! Stunning – just stunning!
Go to Catch Reports 2009 Page 2
