David Meek has been at it again! The Southampton based trawlerman has been in touch with news of another bounty of special old carp. Go on, feast you eyes!:
‘Consistency has never been a word that I have associated with myself. Sure my approach has always been, but since my last year on Roach my head space has been right.
Turning up to a busy pit on a Friday morning wasn’t ideal. But I could drop in to my favoured swim after a friend had finished his session. Although, he had blanked for two nights! But I didn’t really have much else to go on. So here it was. I was also convinced that the ‘mix of doom’ (it’s almost cheating) would draw in a reaction.
Confidence is something I have not been short of in the last season or two. But when I awoke the Saturday morning to not even a roach fart, I was thinking that maybe a slight tweak could be in order. So winding in early, I made a trip to Richie’s tackle shop to inspire myself. My thinking was that where it was so busy the carp were spread about and maybe on edge a little.
So with a big bottle of hemp oil purchased, I loaded up the mix of doom with it. I thought that maybe a scent trail could pull them from all corners of the lake, and give in to the sore lips they were going to get.
‘A nice slow fight resulted in a very leathery mirror carp’
Within an hour of fanning the rigs out, my good friend Jayde came down and as we sat there catching up my left hand rod pulled up, I was away. A nice slow fight resulted in a very leathery mirror carp. A couple of snaps, and I continued to put the rest of the bucket out.
The ‘Carp of Two Halves’, scaley one side…
…leathery on the other
Moments after a quick siesta the same rod was away. And after some perseverance on my part, I slid the net under a fish called ‘The Carp of Two Halves’. I had caught this fish before, but with no flash the shots were not so great. Which was unfortunate. I’m not keen on recaptures, but being selfish I was pleased that I could get some quality stills off this amazing fish. So a text was sent, and I awaited my paparazzi. As David Bailey walked into my swim, I was bent into another beautiful mirror. Small but beautiful. Stills done, rods redone.
‘I realised I had caught the one I loved the most’
In the late hours of the darkness. My lefty had rod (again!) was melting. A tight clutch wasn’t stopping this one! As it powered off seemingly trying to reach the Avon, I was pretty sure this was a good un. Then it got weeded up. Inch by inch I kept it moving, until my swim resembled a putting green, a large mirror sulked in the net. After clearing the weed, I realised I had caught the one I loved the most. After safely sacking her up in the deep margin, I got the rods back out. Not that long after a high twenty steely grey common was lying in the sack a few yards from his friend.
Steely Grey common
In the morning we took some fantastic stills of the two carp one by one. The short deep 35lb + mirror is akin to a style of carp that have almost been forgotten about. What a specimen!’
All the fish fell to Dave’s trusty combination of the new ESP prototype size 7 Beaked Points (they just don’t come off) and Tungsten coated braid plus of course the ever faithful Syncro Loaded 15lb.