A PB Cheshire Carp

After landing that Scaley Cheshire Carp I struggled to get back on the lake, for the next few Saturdays all 7 pegs on the lake were taken and I had to fish elsewhere, on the Saturdays I could find a peg it was always the last one and the inevitable blank would follow. April and May always seem to be the busiest months of the year, coming out of winter the carp are more catchable but it comes with an increase in anglers on the bank and I was facing an impossible task on such a small lake. May, what should be the most productive month of the year, saw me not fishing at all.

Watching the water on a day only carp session


At the beginning of June I figured anglers would have started dropping off and the lake might be worth another look so the first Saturday in June I dropped on for the afternoon. Fortunately there was a decent swim available and on previous trips I’ve seen carp showing strongly in one particular area out in front of the swim. I put a rod on that area and another tight against the oob far bank, both baited with Scopex Squid balanced popups on long Braided Hooklinks due to the increase in weed. I scattered a few scopex freebies around the area too, I figured most would drop into the weed but at least there would be a bit of attraction in the area even if the carp couldn’t see the baits and the bonus was my hookbait would likely be the one a carp would stumble across first.

Kevin Nash Scopex Squid Red Popups, unbelievably good!


I got quite a surprise when 3 hours in my left hand Delkim suddenly burst into life!. I was on it in a flash as a strong fish ploughed through the weed, it just kept going and going before eventually coming to a halt 30 yards further out and against the oob bank. I had weed hanging all over my line and I couldn’t tell if it was the weed making it feel like a dead weight or the fish itself?. The fish kept deep and on the way in it found a couple of weedbeds but the weed wasn’t thick enough and some upwards pressure on the rod would always see things moving again. Eventually it came in close and I caught sight of a big mirror, it was a short but very fat fish and I couldn’t put a weight on it other than to say it was a definite twenty. After finding a slightly thicker weedbed close in I had one more tricky moment but being right on top of it the pressure from above soon had my carp moving again and eventually it slipped into my waiting Landing Net.

Once my Unhooking Mat, scales and camera were set up I lifted the fish out, it was heavy, very heavy in fact and I had a feeling I was looking at a ‘Cheshire PB’, on the Sportster Scales I got 29lb 12oz, I’ve caught bigger than this from day ticket waters and syndicates but as far as Cheshire club waters go this was a pb of sorts. I’ve been trying for a Cheshire club thirty for a long long time now and this is the closest I’ve ever been. It was a known fish that has been caught over 30 in the past so perhaps I was a little unlucky that it was 4oz short although I certainly don’t feel hard done by, just getting a swim and catching one of the biggest fish in the lake was more than enough luck for me!.

I phoned my mate Darren who was in the next peg along and he wound in to come and help with the pics, because the swim was enclosed by trees and bushes it was difficult to find any area with decent light, in the end we had to do the pics right at the front of the swim because it was the only area we could find where I could get away with no shadows in the frame. With the pics done I returned my prize to the water and the carp swam off strongly. I fished on after that but no more runs came my way, not that I was bothered after a result like that.

Once again I struggled to get a peg again after my result, I’m sure I could have had more from this lake but it was impossible to string together consecutive sessions due to the lack of swims and far too many anglers also wanting to fish there. I conceded defeat in the end, I needed to be somewhere I could get a decent peg on a regular basis so I moved on. I had a decent choice of waters to move too but I ended up spending July and August back on the catfish lake I’d left in March, as far as the carp were concerned the lake was an easy runs water but it also held a handful of twenties and I was hoping I could wade through the singles and doubles and pick one up. Fortunately for me I did and my two months on the catfish lake will be my next blog entry.
Tight Lines
Mark.