Dan takes up the story:

“I arrived at around 4:00am and hoped to see an early morning display that would give the carp’s whereabouts away. Being a Saturday morning, there were few swims available, so I decided to set up in a zone that gave me a good view of the pond. By lunchtime, I had seen very little to go off and decided to pack down and have a wander with a bucket. To my surprise a swim was coming available that afternoon, which gave me good access to shallow water and so I dropped in behind the angler packing up and by 3pm, I had the rods out.

“I decided to bait lightly at the start of the session, fishing three tight spombs of Krill boilies soaked in Calanus liquid and corn to a shallow area 80 yards out. As the evening drew in, it became apparent I needed to be closer in, as the bulk of the fish appeared to be around 50 yards out. So, by evening, I’d found another small zone closer in and once again baited lightly in the hope of picking up anything passing over the spot. Sure enough, that first evening I managed to pick up a lovely 27lb mirror. The night passed by uneventfully, but the next 24 hours could only be described as carnage.

“It was clear there were a few fish in the area, but I still wanted to bait lightly. By lunchtime, I managed another four fish with the biggest being a new PB common known as The Sandy at 33lb 2oz. Upon returning the common, I realised a rare opportunity was unfolding and to keep the fish in my swim, I needed to up my baiting, so I drove home and picked up a large amount of Krill boilies and corn.

“By baiting up with three to five Spombs after every bite and having rigs ready, baited with 12mm yellow Mulbz pop-ups, I was able to make the most of the day by picking up a further 11-fish including a mirror known as Single Scale at a new PB of 39lb 2oz and a repeat of the Half Lin at 38lb.

“Once again, the majority of the night hours were quiet but once the early morning sun began to rise the fish rocked up again in numbers. By then, I had a large audience of anglers around watching the action. At times I couldn’t keep rigs in the water. The fish were really tuned into the bait and the takes were coming thick and fast. I landed a further 12 fish that morning including The Bully at 31lb 14oz and a rarely caught mirror known as Starburst.

“Many of the anglers around me were in disbelief. A 20 fish season on this particular lake is seen to be a good season by some very sharp anglers, so to have 30 takes, landing 28, in less that 48 hours is something very special. It was a great trip with great company and a session that will stay with me for a very long time.”