Carp gallery Best catches revealed
41lb 2oz mirror last in the queue for a feed of boilies
THE old saying that ‘the margins are the best feature on the lake’ rang true for Mark Tucknott, who landed a new personal best and venue record last week.
The 55-year-old from Romford, East London, was fishing at Long Lake in Reading when he banked the water’s first-ever forty in the shape of this 41lb 2oz mirror.
It came from a marginal stalking spot that Mark had kept topped up with bait since beginning his session at the 8.5-acre venue.
He said: “I spread a kilo of mixed 12mm, 16mm and 20mm boilies over a spot not far from the bank and kept a close eye on it. On the first day a number of fish visited it, but none of them dropped down to feed.
“I checked the spot the following morning and all the bait had gone, so I put in another five handfuls and placed my hookbait among them – a critically-balanced Manilla boilie made from a cutdown pop-up.”
Mark then endured an agonising couple of hours watching a succession of fish continuing to visit the area and feed on his spot, before eventually his buzzer screamed into life.
“After half-an-hour, two fish drifted in and took a bait each before moving off. Twenty minutes later another good fish came in and did the same,” Mark said.
“This continued for the next two hours, before an upper double-figure koi wolfed down most of the remaining bait.
“I introduced another two handfuls of 12mm boilies, and about an hour later I had a screaming take. A monumental battle followed before I slipped the net under the huge mirror known as Lead Head. It was an incredible session, and to bag the lake’s first forty was a huge bonus!”