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Ditchling common falls after long campaign

HAVING prebaited a spot on a park lake since December, Dennis Jones finally reaped his reward in the shape of this immaculate common of 40lb 2oz.

The scale-perfect fish was landed during a windy session at Ditchling Country Park, in East Sussex – a session when the 28-year-old was the only angler on the venue.

Dennis, a bricklayer by trade, told Carpfeed: “I’ve been fishing Ditchling for the past year, on and off, and prebaiting heavily in a bid to target a fish known as the Ditchling Common.

“Since I started fishing the lake in the winter of 2017 I’ve managed more than 20 takes, catching carp to 29lb 14oz along the way, with most of them ranging between 12lb and 21lb.”

To try to tilt the odds of catching his target a little more in his favour, Dennis decided to start a heavy prebaiting campaign just before last Christmas, using a combination of Nash 4G Squid boilies and maize.

He said: “When I arrived at the lake for my last session, I was the only person there.

“The wind was really strong and the rain was coming down hard.

“I set up the rods, and with my waders on I placed the rig on a gravel spot just off the island, before scattering around 30 to 40 baits over the top.

“At 9.30am that rod was away and the fish put up a great fight. Once I’d landed it I knew it was the big one – I was so glad that all

the hard work had paid off.”

Dennis’ successful hookbait was an 18mm Nash 4G Squid boilie, topped off with a white Citruz pop-up from the same company to form a snowman presentation.