OUR CELEBRATION OF THE COUNTRY’S BEST CARP
Small lakes can often hold the biggest prizes. That’s certainly the case when it comes to Spitfire Pool’s immaculate Wood Common…
WHEN current Drennan Cup champion Rich Wilby, then aged just 11, stocked a batch of carp received from a local club into his own Spitfire Pool, little did he know they included a fish that would come to be regarded as one of the UK’s best-looking commons.
Recognisable by its large overslung mouth and white-tipped fins, the Wood Common is a dream fish for all serious carp anglers. The mighty common carp lives alongside 15 other fish in the secluded 1.5-acre Spitfire Pool in Norfolk. Shallow and weedy, the nutrient-rich pool dug in the 1940s has an abundance of natural food, which has created the perfect environment for carp to thrive.
Estimated to be more than 40 years old, the Wood Common is the biggest fish in the pond, reaching a top weight of 53lb 4oz. Its partner in crime, the Long Common, is not to be sniffed at either and is rapidly approaching the 50lb mark.
Catching these fish, however, is no mean feat, with the Wood Common only being fooled 13 times previously. Some of the best in the business have had a crack at the challenge of catching it. As with so many of the country’s other prized carp, Terry Hearn made it one of his targets, catching it after 20 nights of hard work on the banks of Spitfire.
So why is the task so difficult? With the small nature of the venue, actually locating the fish is rarely a problem – it is a 50lb common after all. But as owner and fishery manager Rich points out, these fish know the game…
“We only have anglers on Spitfire 16 weeks of the year, and we are always fully booked. This means that the fish are more used to not having anglers around and are therefore easily spooked by bankside disturbance. They know their home inside out and can spot anything out of place,” he explains.
It took Rich himself 49 nights to catch the Wood Common, which came on his 23rd bite from the Pool. He has noticed some interesting characteristics of this special fish…
“It’s a bizarre creature. It has come out twice in a week before but has also gone missing twice and not been caught again for over 18 months,” he says.
“Anglers love fishing for it and it is the number one target of most who fish here. This is often detrimental to what else they catch, as the Wood Common loves a white pop-up – so everyone has one on!
“Funnily enough, the 15 other fish aren’t too keen on them, so if you have a white pop-up on it is very often Wood or bust!
“Another point worth noting is this fish’s fighting ability... or lack of it!
“It hardly puts up a fight at all, it just comes in like a wet sack of potatoes
– not what you would expect from a monster carp!
“This has caught anglers out on a number of occasions, because this lack of pressure on the hook can cause it to drop out. Unfortunately I found that out early on in my campaign to catch the common.”