ALARM CALL FOR WELLINGTON ‘50’
Spud bags early-bird personal best
A BITE at first light resulted in one of Wellington Country Park’s A-Team for Spud Sims – the Chinese Common at 50lb 3oz.
After locating 10 carp in a small bay at the end of a channel, the Solihull-based pipe fitter set up in a peg halfway down the channel in the hope that the carp would drift out once the sun went down.
“I only had a tench during the night but I heard a couple of carp show in the early hours,” said the 45-year-old.
“Next day the carp were back at the end of the channel sunning themselves so I moved one swim closer, thinking that maybe they weren’t coming as far out of the channel during the night as I’d thought.”
The move produced another tench on dark, but at five the following morning Spud was awakened by a screaming one-toner.
“Ten minutes later I landed a big common, certainly one of the A-Team. It turned out to be the Chinese Common at 50lb 3oz. I was blown away – my first UK 50lb-plus common and a new pb common!”
The fish was caught from a hard spot surrounded by silt at 40 yards on an Active Bait Solutions Hydra K pop-up hookbait over 2kg of 16mm boilies.
Spud’s successful set-up consisted of a multi rig tied with Fox Camotex Stiff coated braid and a size 6 Korda Choddy hook.