Your catches Top carp revealed
Stanwick’s 49lb 14oz common part of hectic double take
BRADLEY Wegner got more than he could have hoped for when this 49lb 14oz common finally succumbed to his net.
The fish, known as the Colonel, came during a between-work overnighter at Stanwick Lakes Fishery in Northamptonshire.
Said Bradley: “I noticed fish topping in an area with a fresh influx of water coming in. My mind was ticking away, ‘I’m gonna have one tonight,’ I thought.”
Casting a chod rig well past the area and reeling it in on the surface to the spot, Bradley didn’t have long to wait for the bite.
“I sat back and heard another one over the same zone. My confidence was sky-high and I was waiting for something to happen. The rods were out around 20 minutes and while I watched I saw the line pick up on the right-hand rod. The bobbin pulled to the top and the tip curved round. I was on it in a flash and found myself bent into what felt like a train.
“It stripped 40 yards on its first run and when it came to a halt I could feel there was a lot of weight behind the fish.
“Fortunately, the lead had dropped and soon enough the fish was on the surface – a massive common! After the first time I saw it wallow on the surface, my lefthand rod started melting off.
“Incredibly, it was a double take. I needed to concentrate on the one I was playing and just ignore the other rod because I knew deep down it was something special.
“The fight went on for over 20 minutes, slow and heavy under the tip. After what seemed like an age of leg shaking and my heart in my throat, it finally hit the surface and I saw that it was – the Colonel, the lake’s biggest common!”
Bradley also managed to land the double-figure mirror attached to his other rod before ringing his mates and devoting his attention to the big common.
“When we got the fish out it looked absolutely mint,” he said.
“The look on everyone’s face when I peeled open the sling was a picture!”
Bradley baited with 10mm CC Moore Pacific Tuna boilies and fished a matching pop-up over the top.