CLUSTER HITS THE BANK IN HEATWAVE
ADAM Francis was rewarded for enduring sweltering temperatures and mosquitoes with a fine trio of big carp from the Essex Manor.
The 29-year-old Londoner landed fish weighing 31lb 7oz, 31lb 10oz and 45lb 9oz from the venue, the largest being the highly-coveted Cluster.
With the mercury soaring to 350C during the day, all three of Adam’s bites came between dusk and dawn.
He said: “I baited up a shallow, clear area and then left the spot alone and fished elsewhere for the first night. At dusk on the second day the area I’d baited erupted with bubbles, so I wasted no time getting a rod in there. At 4am I got the bite I’d been anticipating, which resulted in Cluster. I followed it up with two 30lb mirrors from a marginal spot.”
Adam used White Sticky Signature Squid pop-ups on multi rigs. SOLID PVA bag tactics accounted for this 37lb 4oz lump for Darren Lamey on an overnight session to Monks Pit, Cambridgeshire. He used a Mainline Fruity Squid wafter hookbait. A RONNIE rig baited with a Sticky Signature Squid pop-up fooled this scaly banger from Weybread Carp Fishery, Norfolk. Captor James Hurren presented his baits over 1kg THIS stunning dark 30lb 2oz common gave Jonny Fletcher an ‘intense’ battle after he hooked it at a Cambs lake. He used a 14mm Sticky Signature pop-up on a Ronnie rig. AFTER spending hours clearing weed, Darryl Dunn landed a brace weighing 32lb 10oz and 31lb 8oz from his Cambs syndicate. Both fish took homemade Sticky Manilla pop-ups. LEE Upward landed this lovely 30lb 9oz mirror as part of a brace of thirties from his Ringwood syndicate. He used snowman rigs made from Sticky Manilla Tuff Ones and pop-ups. A SIX-FISH hit to 29lb 5oz was Luke Mallett’s return from an 18hr session at the Wharf fishery in Cardiff. He targeted a weedy area and used Sticky Manila wafters. DAVID Millward (40) caught this pretty 30lb 2oz linear from Linch Hill’s Stoneacres lake. He used a blowback rig baited with a Mainline Link boilie. THIS 29lb 8oz common was landed on a 12hr session at The Warren, in Essex, by Glen Window. The 30-yearold baited up with Mainline Hybrid boilies, and used a stiff hinge rig.
36lb DAVID Summerfield used a yellow Sticky Signature Squid pop-up at the back of a weedbed at Horton Church Lake to catch this 36lb 12oz mirror, plus another of 30lb 12oz. A MOVE of swims at Longfield Fox Pool, in Surrey, resulted in this lovely dark mirror of 22lb for Phil Kingsbury. He used a Dynamite Baits Complex-T wafter hookbait. STEVEN Ives banked a 23lb 10oz Virginia Lakes common from a marginal spot he had prebaited with Bait-Tech Triple-N boilies, hemp and corn. He used a pop-up over the top. TOM Williams used a trimmed down Mainline Hybrid pop-up to catch a 31lb 11oz common from Weston Park, in Shropshire. He Spombed mixers to get the fish competing first. TERRY Bell banked a beautiful 33lb 8oz mirror from his Hampshire syndicate using a multi rig with a Mainline Link pop-up. He targeted a set of pads along the far margin. THIS chunky 27lb mirror fell to Jack Lamb’s Sticky Manilla pop-up during a 36hr session at Westbrook Mere, Hemel Hempstead. He beat it using a Ronnie rig and a size 4 hook. STEVE Hill banked this 40lb 8oz common from Farriers Lake, Bucks, during a 48hr guest session as part of Carp Society charity auction. It took a Sticky White Signature Squid pop-up. RICHIE Leat used a Dynamite Baits Tiger Nut pop-up soaked in citrus oil to tempt a pretty 31lb mirror from his southern syndicate, along with two other fish over 20lb. WESLEY Coggeshall landed this 30lb 12oz mirror, which pre-spawning weights closer to 36lb, from his Kent syndicate. It fell for a white 16mm Sticky Manilla pop-up. STEFAN Albecht headed to a local Cheshire mere to catch this corker of a mirror. He used Sticky Krill pop-ups glazed with matching liquid before being dusted with Krill powder.