This story started way back in the late 80s, but don’t worry I won’t go that far back.
The carp that reside in some very special lakes in the heart of the Cheshire planes are very sort after indeed. Granted they are not 50 plus pound carp that you find southwards of the midlands , but they are for certain some of the most elusive , dark and trickiest you will ever set your eyes on. If that’s not tempting enough these fish go all the way back to the 70s, 80s and 90s, yet still around to this day.
Father Time is ticking on some of these unbelievable fish, hence why I had to move quickly and with the full campaign mode well and truly kicked in, my hunt for that childhood dream began ….
THE TARGET
This particular fish I was targeting was an old Mirror named “Big G”.
He is a Gratwick strain carp that got stocked into my local lake possibly around mid / late 90s, I can’t be certain. As mentioned at the start of this story, I have fished this lake since the late 80s with my late father, so as you can imagine it’s a very special place to me.
THE CAMPAIGN
My campaign for Big G started back in September 2024, alongside this fish there are another 8-10 originals members of what we call the A-Team. Old, dark, Wiley Carp that I was happy to work through to reach my end game. Upper 20+ Mirrors and 30+ Commons that blow anglers minds when caught were there for the taking.
THE LAKE
The lake is a 6.5 acre old gravel pit nestled in lush Cheshire countryside with very deep drop offs, really shallow margins in some places, surrounded by tall oak and willow trees packed with wildlife. The bottom is or can be very weedy with holes and snags for sanctuary that the fish disappear in on a regular basis.
From being in and around the lake for a number of years now, I felt that I was fully in tune with not only the lake itself, but the routine of the residing carp. I treaded carefully with my wife Sammi to inform her that I will be on the bank for a minimum of 48hrs every week. Luckily enough it’s very close to my house to allow me to walk the banks daily so I never missed a thing.
BAIT & RESULTS
Armed with “The Swarm” I was baiting the lake regular and I knew I was going to use a lot of bait so the support from the team was essential.
I started to pick off some of the A-Team originals fairly quickly with some mega old ones called “The Earl”, “Lumpy” and “White Tips”
CLOSING IN
Going into late summer / Autumn of 2025 Big G hadn’t been caught for almost 12 months, which was not uncommon as he only usually does 2 bites a year at best. With the information of where he was last caught, I focused on a particular part of the lake known to hold the main group of carp..including him.
All the other lads on the lake left me to it , and encouraged me to finally land him. Having fellow anglers with an amazing level of etiquette like that is rare nowadays, and i truly thank them for that.
THE NIGHT
October 2nd came around and i knew he was close. The weather was set up for it, 18 degrees through the day and 13 at night. With a very big storm forecast that night, the air pressure dropped to 984, with a hell of a lot of rain.
Perfect !!!
I baited my 2 areas exactly the same as I had been doing all year, with 3-4 kilos of Swarm and chilli hemp.
I had recently changed my hookbait approach from my trusty snowman presentation , swarm bottom bait topped with a white chocolate pop up , to 2 single swarm bottom baits, match the hatch as I knew they were really going for it now. I never over complicate it when it comes to rig choice. My go to is a combi rig where a stiff boom coupled with a supple hook length is deadly matches with a size 4 wide gape X.
SIGNS
I had previously caught that session a 23lb common along with “The Big Stockie” at 24lb 10oz on that spot. I just knew he was there lying in wait. !!
THE TAKE
The storm rolled in with torrential rain and high southerly winds smashing across the lake into the corner where I had my traps set.
I was bivvy bound early evening with my son , Harley. Who had never done a night with me before.
8.15pm…..
2 single beeps on the right hand rod. I popped my head out, flicked on my head torch and the bobbin was up tight against the blank. ..Hmmmmm
As I walked over to it, I could hear my clutch ticking ever so slowly. I was away !!!
Once I lifted into it, it was just plodding, giving a burst every now and then. I shouted to my good friend Tom Hughes who was in the next swim to me. The fight wasn’t anything special I must admit. The fish popped up a few rod lengths out and straight away I called
“ that’s a stockie that kid “
Little did I know Tom had already seen its flank and knew straight away what fish it was. He kept quiet. Knowing my head would have fell off and I still had to land this fish.
He netted it for me keeping quiet. Then he turns to me and says
“you’ve got him Rob”
“What ??? You winding me up ???” Were my words.
We both then got on our knees to have a proper look. He was right. Big G was mine !!
THE MOMENT
I let out an almighty celebratory roar and couldn’t believe my eyes.
The joy and relief that flooded over me was spine tingling, all of that hard work, hours and hours going crazy at home wondering if someone else had caught him disappeared instantly.
Some of the lads around the lake heard the commotion and came over to witness the moment with me, and see this absolute stunner on the matt.
He came in at just a couple of ounces under 30lb, but that did not matter one bit. The elusive black and gold mirror was right there with a double swarm hookbait nailed in its bottom lip.
I have not had another moment in fishing like that , when there’s cameras flashing in the wet, dark atmospheric storm that was currently going on around us, and to share it with some of the very best lads I know all because of carp fishing was very special.
What a moment
What a feeling
What a Carp ……
By Rob Garland
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