Top carp revealed
Britain’s biggest in session that sees Holme Fen’s fourth different sixty
BRITAIN’S biggest living carp has been caught at 67lb 12oz during an incredible group session that also produced the lake’s fourth different 60 and two 50s!
Captain Jack weighed just 5oz short of the official British record – set by the now deceased Parrot at Wasing in Berkshire – and was caught by Mark Fossy at Holme Fen in Cambridgeshire.
Mark had blanked for five nights before a final-night move to a swim aptly known as Last Resort produced a 20, a 30 and the lake’s biggest resident.
Earlier in the week, Mark’s mate Lee Marshall had caught a new sixty for the water in the shape of a 64lb 2oz mirror, while fellow pals Dan Stotan banked a 59-pounder and Ian Cooper caught a 51-pounder.
“There were nine of us there for a six-night lake booking,” Lee told Carpfeed. “I don’t think there’s ever been a session here like it.”
In all, the group caught 15 fish, Lee taking seven of them from the Bolt Hole swim. The Bedfordshire angler said: “All my fish came to the same rod off a fallen tree in 3ft of water. When the sun rose they moved in there and most of the bites came in the early afternoon.”
Recalling the moment he banked the new 60-pounder, which has now been called Marshall’s, he said: “I was standing behind the scales and a friend was reading the dial. He said it shot past 50lb like a rev counter. When it settled on 64lb 2oz it got a bit emotional.
“My previous personal best was 35lb, and in this session I caught a 23, a 33, a 36, a 37, a 38, a 43 and the 64!”
Lee added that Mark Fossy’s capture of Captain Jack, having moved swims to save a blank with a night to spare, was a special moment for the group and a fitting end to “the session of a lifetime”.
Lee and Mark fished German Rigs made with Korda N-Trap Soft and size 6 Gardner Continental Mugga hooks. Lee used Carp On Baits’ Spicy Crab boilies while Mark used the same firm’s Peach and Pepper baits.