Before the season even started, I spent plenty of time looking back through old captures from Horton Church Lake, getting familiar with the stock. Out of all the fish, Pam was the one that kept catching my eye.
It wasn't just its size—it was Pam’s incredible appearance. Deep, dark colours and that unmistakable purple and blue shine made this one stand out from the rest. Pam was a carp that was sure to catch everyone’s eye and be on top of the hit lists.
The season began April 4th. I decided not to go on the opening weekend knowing it would be very busy. My excitement and anticipation would wait just a little longer to wet a line on the historic Church Lake.
When I did arrive for the first time the lake was busy. Everyone was still eager to open their account on the mighty Church. I slotted in where I could and the following morning I noticed some fish showing to my right. I promptly moved, however my first trip would end without a bleep.
Motionless bobbins became the norm as across 15 days on the banks of Horton Church Lake, I failed to put a single carp on the bank. Each visit brought its own challenges and those blank days tested my patience and confidence. But I kept coming back, knowing that on a water like Church Lake one bite from the right fish could make everything worthwhile.
I saw a lot of shows during this time on the bank. These areas however seemed to always be taken, clearly the favourite areas of the lake for this time of year. One such area was a swim known as Captors. Zigs were picking up the odd carp across the lake as expected in the spring on a deep, rich water. Despite the success of others I decided to stick on the bottom as I believed if I was to get a bite it would most certainly be one of the bigguns.
It was now May. As I walked around the lake I noticed the swim Captors was free, an area I'd been keen to get into. A swim that I'd consistently seen fish showing in. It commanded a central area of the lake that clearly saw plenty of fish traffic.
With the eagerness to finally open my account on the lake, I went straight into the swim.
As expected, I saw fish showing out in front of me. I made up some solid bags using The Swarm and Butter Crunch Eruption Mix with a Pineapple BP pop-up trimmed down into a balanced wafter. I cast both rods to 20 wraps where the fish had been showing.
The Spomb mix was kept nice and simple, consisting of whole and crumbed Swarm boilies, oily pellets, Eruption Mix and a little sweetcorn spread over the area. The rig itself was nothing complicated either, just a short soft braided D-rig that I had plenty of confidence in.
I sat back and this time was desperate for the alarms to kick in.
Then, at 6am the following morning, that moment finally arrived.
The alarm ripped into life and from the moment I lifted into the fish, it felt different. After a powerful battle, pulling me from right to left, a huge mirror carp slowly came into view. The person with me knew the stock well and said, "That's Pam!"
The carp slipped safely over the net cord after a nerve-racking battle. Even then, I hadn't fully taken in what was in front of me.
I looked into the net and said, "I've got my forty."
The person took one look and replied, "No... that's a fifty."
I couldn't believe it.
With the fish safely on the mat, the scales confirmed the unbelievable—Pam at 53.8lb.
The fish that had caught my eye before the season had even begun found its way into my net, and after 15 blank days the reward couldn't have been any better.
Some captures are special because of the weight, but others are special because of the journey behind them. The early starts, the unanswered alarms, the empty nets and the belief that the next bite could be the one all made this moment even more memorable.
After a few quick photos, Pam was returned safely to Horton Church Lake, where she continues to be one of the most recognisable and admired carp in the water.
