TARKA HELPS CHRIS TO AN EXCLUSIVE CARP DOUBLE
He adds Britain’s biggest-ever common to two encounters with controversial 60lb-plus Big Rig
BRITAIN’S biggest-ever common has been caught... by a man who also has the second-biggest UK mirror to his name.
Chris Caddick caught Tarka from the Avenue in Shropshire at 64lb 6oz. That’s 4oz heavier than the previous biggest common, the now-deceased Benson from Bluebell Lakes.
The 48-year-old, who has been a member of the Rob Hales syndicate since it opened eight years ago, also caught the infamous Big Rig twice from the same lake.
The controversial giant mirror, which weighed 71lb 4oz at its peak, was transferred to the water from a stock pond at a high weight and, on that basis, was denied an official British record before it died last summer.
Only the freakishly distended 83lb 4oz Wingham mirror, which is also now dead, has ever topped that weight.
“As far as I know,” Chris told Carpfeed, “I’m the only person to catch a 60lb mirror and 60lb common in this country.”
Chris’s initial encounter with Big Rig came in the wake of its high-profile first capture and so the financial advisor decided to release it unweighed. He caught it again in February, 2017, at 69lb 12oz.
“It’s just such an amazing place,” said Chris of the Avenue. “There are probably maybe one or two other sixties in there too.”
Reflecting on the capture of Tarka, Chris said: “It was a strange bite, one that makes you wonder if it was a line bite or not. The bobbin tightened up but it didn’t take any line.
“It’s not known for putting up a massive scrap and at times it was like reeling in a dead weight. When I saw it roll as it went in the net I knew which one it was.
“There’s another big common in there called Ellie, which I’ve had three times, so I looked at the tail and was so glad to have finally caught Tarka. It was a massive fish and I knew straight away it was over 60lb.”
Chris arrived at the venue on Thursday morning and got the bite at 7pm on Saturday, having left that rod in place for 12 hours. He said: “You have to be as stealthy as you can on there. Once your rods are in position, you leave them.”
Tarka fell to a homemade corkball pop-up made from a bit of paste Chris admitted he had “scrounged” from venue boss Rob Hales, who feeds the fish with his own Edge boilies. It was taken over about 2kg of maize, pellets and matching boilies.