Name: Ash Bradbury
Occupation: Tails Up Director and Chub consultant
Venue: Manor Farm, Essex
Date: 11-3-07
Fish Caught: 44lb 2oz mirror carp known as  Trio, 33lb mirror
Length of session: 48 hours
Bait used: Tails Up OCM cork ball pop up. 
Set up: Diawa 6000t reel, Chub Outcast 2 ¾ rod, 15lb sensor line, 4ft leadcore, Rig Marole Safety clip,  3oz  dumpy lead, 10inch sheath skin, size 7 esp Big T, 2 inch pop up.

Details of capture:
With the warmest winter on record for years,  it was a real torment that I couldn’t get out to do any angling as I was in the middle of taking over Tails Up with a good friend from Collage Ed Greenfield. With the takeover complete, I began hatching a plan of baiting up the manor, by the middle of February  I had begun my campaign. The first  fishing session planed was for the end of feb, a 48 hour session that saw no carp grace my net but one rather large one fell off the hook after crossing my other rod…..
With the Five lakes show the following weekend I knew it was going to be at least two weeks until I could get back to the lake. After the show I was back on a mission to bait up with the ever reliable OCM.

Finally after two weeks of working non stop I was back driving through the gates of the Manor, eager to put the misfortune of what happened two weeks earlier behind me. On arriving I was surprised to see only two cars parked up, Friday afternoon! I couldn’t believe it, especially as the weather was predicted to be so good. There was a lovely northerly blowing and three good choice swims to choose from, after an hour id settled on the Rope as the sun was disappearing behind the horizon. A couple of zigs were cast out and one on the bottom, with one of our new stick mix bags, followed by a liberal skattering of baits. All set, time for the bivy to be erected. I sat down on the bedchair sorting a few bits out and from no where the bottom rod started signalling a rather jerky take. I lifted the rod and it took on healthy bend, the fish tore around in the depths before coming in close and giving me a scare, getting stuck in the reeds for a minute or two, I was desperate not to loose it. A few minutes later, I had it wallowing over the net cord and she was mine! A cracking mirror of 33lb was soon photographed and  released.

The following day saw me frustrated with trying to get a bite on the zigs….. it just was not happening. As Sunday morning broke, there was lots of activity in my area, but as time went on it was clear I wasn’t going to get a bite, by this time we were in the middle of the best spell of weather that march has seen for years, with a warm southerly wind blowing. I was soon trotting down to the windswept bank to see if I could see any carpy signs. On climbing a tree, I almost couldn’t believe it, there was an area of  15 yards all mudded up. I watched as the signs of carp were all to apparent, bubbles began to float to the surface and dark shapes moving around the murky water. It was mental, id seen five different fish and decided enough was enough, ran back, got two rods set up, a net and walked as fast as I could back to the swim.

By this time id been joined by Ed who Had come down for a photo shoot on how to use our  new stick mix. What he hadn’t bargained for was being my fish spotter. He climbed the tree, and gave me the all clear, I quickly and as quietly as possible flicked the two rods out. Both went down with a donk, a few baits crushed followed and the traps set. Half an hour past and the murky waters were quickly clearing almost in front of our eyes. The fish were still visiting the area, and one or two visiting the spot where one rod was.  It was like they couldn’t help themselves coming to investigate. We climbed down the tree, full of anticipation, another hour went by, then suddenly I got viscous liner, on the left rod, not the one the fish had been visiting, id just been done for sure! Then five minutes later the other rod just ripped offff….

What followed was a slow powerful fight, that seemed to go on for ever, Ed had got up the tree to see if he could get some good pics, but soon he was down again, leaving me wondering what he had seen!. The fish almost grew as the fight went on, and as I lifted the net around it, it was a big relief, I just stood there looking at it thinking its defianatly a thirty, but when I took my sunnys of and saw how big it was in new I had a hippo, I thought I recognised it as a fish called Trio, but not certain, I was soon running back to my proper swim to get all the essentials.
On lifting the fish from the water it felt big but how big..?????
The sling was lifted and the scales swung round to a  Massive 44lb 2 oz, I could hardly believe it…

My 5th different English 40lb plus carp lay before me…..I was truly delighted and almost couldn’t believe it.

Ash