
Back in summer I decided to do some wild camping/fishing, after looking on google maps for a good location. I found a huge abandoned forest that had a big reed filled lake of around 50 acres 2 hours from my city. The forest was completely overgrown with brambles and was a nightmare to get through. The lake was also 4-5 miles from the closest road and only accessible by foot. On my first trip I cut out a swim and baited the reed bed up the margin heavily with tigernuts. This was all private property and fishing was not permitted so I tried to be as stealthy as possible, entering and exiting the forest at night time only. I returned the next weekend, arriving before sunrise on the Saturday still not even sure if the lake held carp. I took only minimal gear and slept in a hammock. The day past without a single bleep of the alarm but early morning on the Sunday my rod went into melt down. The fish was uncontrollable and must’ve took 80 yards of line in one run. After an hour and a half of the most intense fight I’ve ever had from a carp I finally netted it. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked into the bottom of my net. a ridiculous dark leather was thrashing like mad. The fight, behaviour and condition of the fish makes me think it could have been the first time it had seen a hook (very hard to find uncaught carp in the UK). It weighed 33lbs 2oz and had a completely untouched mouth that showed zero hook damage. I plan on returning next summer to see what else the lake has to offer but it was by far my most memorable and favourite capture I’ve had so far. Thanks for taking the time to read about my little adventure and let me know what you think about the Carp, cheers
(Face covered for obvious reasons)
Posted by Prestigious-Cup7359
3 Comments
An hour and a half fight ?!
Uncaught and unnamed…how carping should be.
Wow! what a story and fish, love the effort and dedication you put in, not many fish like that these days, hopefully you can get some more next year!