Marcus Howarth from Wimborne sent us this brilliant story about a rather special common he caught the other week. Not only was it massive, and from a very tricky venue, but he watched it take the hookbait!
Get a load of this!
‘I had a strange feeling and just needed to get down the lake, so I started my session a couple days earlier than I planned. The early start proved successful as the following morning after my first night I had managed a 31lb 6oz common so I was well made up.
What happened the next day will stay with me forever, all morning I hadn’t seen a single sign of a carp and was starting to think they had done the off but then at around 12:30 a common showed close in to my right so with that I climbed a tree and after a little while noticed a couple fish mooching about real close in then another group of fish came in so I just had to get a rig down there.
I got one of my rods, put on a fresh bait and waded out hoping not to spook them and then I lowered my rig onto a little spot and dropped 8 baits around it. All sorted I climbed back up the tree to watch and I could see my spot and my hookbait.
For two hours I was watching carp milling around but not really interested in feeding. I did see one decent mirror around the mid-30 mark drop down, take a bait or two then do one. It didn’t look like it was going to happen and then this carp came swimming slowly around the bush towards my spot and it just looked massive!!
She dropped down and started grubbing around, she then clocked the spot and dropped down eating the freebies. She would pick a bait up then do a circle around the spot so I sat there watching her do that 6 or 7 times. My heart was pumping like mad and then she dropped down again this time heading straight for my hook bait. This is it I thought and as she righted herself she started shaking her head – nailed!
I quickly climbed down from the tree, got to the rod as it started bending round then she stripped 30 yards of line off me. I stopped her then she came straight to the surface wallowing about before diving back down and kiting to my right towards a little snaggy bay. I do not want her to go in to there so I clamped down and managed to turn her and just started pumping her towards me. She’s on the surface and I just kept her coming until she was in the folds of my net. I secured her in the net and just sat there taking it all in, I phoned a few mates to come join me in this special moment and to help me with the weighing and photography she went a colossal 46lb 15oz“
Marcus with his beaut of a common at 46lb 15oz!
Excellent angling from Marcus and it continues his fine run of form this year. He has been testing a few new bits for ESP and his terminal tackle incorporated a new prototype ESP Leadcore, prototype size 5 MK-3 Stiff Riggers, due for launch in 2015, plus good old Bristle Filament and Syncro XT 15lb mainline.
