GIANT HITS AND RUNS!
53lb 4lb mirror practically rips the rod from the rest
DDAVID Crouch didn’t let a hit-and-run driver ruin his fishing. He dusted off his van and went on to bank this 53lb 4oz mirror.
The day before his weekend session at Grenville Lake, a vehicle caused £3,000 of damage to his fishing transport, but with the van still driveable, David wouldn’t be beaten.
“It’s a day I will never forget, I have to say,” he recalled after catching the big mirror from the Cambridgeshire venue.
Arriving to find only six other anglers occupying the 72-acre lake, David had a good look around with the aid of his bicycle and settled on peg 12 after seeing a fish at long range.
Having found a clear spot next to a weedbed 80 yards out, David baited with 20 Spombs of CC Moore Odyssey XXX boilies and managed a 21lb 4oz mirror on one of his 12mm Northern Special hookbaits at 3am.
“Nothing happened until about 8.30am, when I was watching the water and seeing a lot of fish showing at about 150 yards out.
“The next thing the rod I had recast in the night was ripping off, nearly being dragged from the rest. I pulled into this and felt a big weight. I could tell straightaway that this fish was altogether different from the other.”
THIS fifty is another example of the huge fish living in Grenville Lake.
The rich 72-acre venue, which has depths down to 35ft, contains more than a hundred carp over 35lb and numerous forties and fifties among its total stock of 1,000 fish.
With the oldest stocked fish only just over 15 years old, the venue’s true potential may still be ahead of it.
A fraught battle, which saw David get into the water in his waders, eventually came to an end after 10 minutes.
“I could see this was indeed a good fish,” he said. “Once I was happy I lifted the net out, and oh my god, this was a special fish, it felt very heavy! On to the mat and peeling back the net, a huge mirror carp lay in front of me. I was gobsmacked –this was massive!”
David beckoned two passing members to help weigh and photograph the fish.
“It was an immense male carp,” he said. “A real brute of a fish, and we all stood in awe of him.”
“I was gobsmacked. It was an immense male carp, a real brute of a fish, and we all stood in awe of him””