IT ONLY TAKES ONE BITE
19th October 2020
Simon Batty proves you are always in with a chance, even when times are tricky, as he lands Junction 12’s biggest resident at 49lb 10oz!
Most carp anglers will know the feeling of both excitement and uncertainty when you book a trip away, to fish a special venue. Whether it’s in the UK or abroad there’s no doubt you can both look forward to a trip yet dread it at the same time. Will all the time, effort and money be worthwhile? Simon Batty’s long drive down to Junction 12 Lake in Reading from his Yorkshire home was certainly well worth it! As he slipped his net under the lake’s largest resident at 49lb 10oz!
The Krill Active boilies were my go-to on this session and they helped me net the biggest in the lake!
Simon picks up the story:
“Living up in Yorkshire, Junction 12 is far from close by, so when I got the opportunity to fish there with a couple of mates, I jumped at the chance. I trekked down early on a Friday morning, and somehow managed to get caught by a speed camera, or at least I think I did!
“The venue is lovely, and on arrival we did a couple of laps to see if we could spot anything. Rather sneakily, I noticed a patch of coloured up water and didn’t tell the other lads. We did the draw for swims and I instantly chose the right-hand side railway swim. Right where I saw the coloured water.
“I flicked a couple of singles out while I got sorted but nothing happened. So, I decided to have a lead around the area. Whilst leading around, I found a nice silty depression surrounded by quite thick weed. It just screamed carp to me, as it was so far away from the usual gravel spots people fish. As it was quite mucky, I opted to use a chod rig on that spot baited with a Krill cork-ball hookbait, which again people seem to have forgotten about! I spread around 50 to 60 Krill Active freebies around my spots and settled in for the night.
“I made sure to set the alarm for just before first light, to see if I could see anything showing. It went off at 6:20am and I lay there looking out across the lake. Literally 10 minutes passed, and the rod on the silt spot was away.
“The fight was typical of a good fish, slow, methodical and plodding. I inched the heavy weight closer and closer to the bank, until this chunky mirror surfaced and slid straight into the net. I pulled the net in closer to me and thought, that’s a good thirty! I staked her up in the margins and had a brew with my mate Josh before we set about photos and such like.
“I waded out, rolled up the net and went to lift the fish out, it was only then I realised how big it was! It was clearly a big 40-pounder, and this was confirmed when the scales flew into the forties, right up to 49lb 10oz! I was absolutely buzzing, not only was it my 7th UK forty but it was also a new PB!”
