Guy Turnbull – Cherry on the Cake

13th May 2019

Guy Turnbull really has had the best start to his spring angling, a session to remember and a stunning looking old mirror as a new PB as the cherry on the cake!

After recent captures coming from a deep silty area which the fish had been visiting at first light I was catching well on bright singles but I felt that as we were getting towards the end of April it was time to start giving them some bait as they were getting more and more active each time I went for a walk round the lake.

I was keeping a close eye on the weather and the temps were climbing and we were due some low 20c weather, so I planned to fish as this weather came in, the reason being I knew the fish I wanted to catch liked a certain area which was a raised hump which only one swim had access too. Being a raised area I needed the warmer weather to get the carp up in the layers cruising over the spot which is around 4ft deep dropping off into 9/10ft. As I arrived at the lake the swim where I felt I needed to be was free so after dropping a bucket I carried on with a lap of the lake just to make sure I wasn’t missing nothing else, but after seeing fish cruising around the area I felt it was right.

On the first night I sat watching the sun drop behind the trees when the left rod gave one bleep as the clip pulled and I was away, after a manic battle I slipped the net under a 19lb common, this gave me confidence in my thoughts about the area. On first light it was so misty all I could do was listen for shows but before I got the chance the left rod again was away and after a slow but heavy battle I had something pretty special in the net with flanks covered in scales and at 31lb, the Double Lin was ticked off the list – confidence was through the roof at this point. The swim remained quiet until the next morning when this time the right rod gave the single bleep and another slow and heavy battle was underway this time a dark 29lb mirror was my reward this was really turning into some session. Later that night as the light faded I was soon leant into another battle which was giving me the run around but after some steady pressure it was soon sulking in the net, one known as 4 Scale at 32lb 8oz, I just couldn’t put a foot wrong.

With a fresh rig and more bait applied I got in the bag for the night. The next morning, I was woken by 1 bleep and as the clip pulled I shot out of bed and bent into a solid weight, at first it just held its own, but I soon had it on the move. As I pumped it closer to the bank it started to wake up and stripped 20yards of line off me like it was nothing, then would give up and I would pump it back closer. This happened 3 times and in the back of my mind I remember a mate having the biggun and it was doing the exact same thing, so my mind started running away with ‘could it be’. After a good ruck under the tip it popped up in the margin and my mate Ryan slipped the net under what looked a big framed carp. As we both looked into the net we were looking down on something real special and I then knew it was the biggun and the big carp buzz was off the scale. After a few phone calls I was soon cradling my new PB at 41lb 9oz and what a carp to have as a PB. After slipping it back and getting the traditional soaking I was sat on the bank wet through, but did I care? Did I hell! Its moments like that why we do it, and it’s always worth it!

Guy used his faithful Tungskin pop up rig to good effect, it really is just a case of confidence in your approach, tackle and bait that leaves you with the freedom to concentrate on location and the rest becomes second nature. Well done Guy, a trip to remember!

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