Bait switch ends in joy during Tyram Hall session
A THREE-month baiting campaign on a spot that has halved in depth gave Tom Clark this near-50lb mirror.
The 49lb 8oz fish, known as Baz, came from Tyram Hall near Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
“I had been baiting the area in question since May,” said Tom. “At that point it was 6ft deep and I’d been fishing it with naked chods, but with all the summer heat and the demanding vegetation around the lake the water level had dropped dramatically – so much so that the area was now only 3ft deep.
“Bearing in mind that the vast majority of members were fishing boilies, I opted for a change in tactics.
“I changed both my baiting approach and my rigs to suit the situation, as the bottom had clearly become much firmer.
“Upon my arrival I noticed that there were a lot of fish showing in front of the island, but with the thought of the big girl holding up away from the main bulk of the fish I headed for my baited area and got the rods out on to the spot.”
After a quiet night, Tom was less than an hour from departing when one of his rods hooped over.
He said: “After a slow and ponderous fight I saw a large carp surface with a very noticeable scale pattern around the wrist of its tail.
“After a dramatic effort to bundle the fish into the net amid the lily pads I found myself questioning the identity of this carp.
“It was only when I went to lift it from the water that I knew it had to be Baz, from its sheer weight alone.”
Tom presented a homemade Sticky Manilla wafter on a D rig over crushed tigers and 12mm Manilla boilies.