Almost instantly after getting the rods out, the first take came; however, due to the kelp, it was unfortunately one-nil to the carp. It was clear the fish were up for a feed, so I prepared my mix of Krill Active, Ellipse Pellets, corn and Pure Calanus Liquid and deposited four spombs over each rod in anticipation for some action.

With the bait now over the rigs, confidence was high, and it didn’t take long for the second bite to occur. The fish gave me an absolute war, constantly trying to get in the marginal Canadian weed, but after a battle it eventually went over the net cord. I peered in and realised I’d bagged ‘Blackspot’ for the second time in a couple of months. The first time it had weighed 45.8lbs (a really low weight for this fish after doing mid 50’s over the winter).

I put the net down and just laughed to myself!

A couple of the other lads walked in to see what I’d got. Laying the fish out on the mat, I said to one of the others, “it looks a bit bigger than last time” and I was right, I hoisted up the sling, as one of the guys revealed that he now weighed 48lb 4oz. For me, this was a new personal best, with my previous being 46lb, which had stood for 8 years! We rattled off some snaps, treated its mouth and slipped it back to fight another day and make another angler as happy as I was.

By just arriving early, I had had 2 catches; one of which was a new PB. What a morning and what a way to start the session – this definitely left me hopeful for what was to come!

As night came on the first day, I was buzzing with excitement, but little did I know what was about to happen. It was around 3am, and the middle rod let out a few bleeps, I knew that if it was a bite, I couldn’t risk the fish taking line due to the kelp being such a problem. Once I connected with the carp, I instantly walked back to steer it away from danger and gain the upper hand early in the fight. A very slow battle followed, and once it rolled in the margin I knew it was yet another good fish, and jokingly said it was a fish called ‘The Peach’; it wasn’t until it was in the net that I had actually managed to bag The Peach.

After ringing Spug to help, the sling was attached to the scales and lifted up, spinning to over 50lbs; eventually, they settled on 50lb 8oz, which was again, another PB! I really could not believe my luck, two PB’s within 24 hours of starting.

The fish was returned and we both sat down, laughed, and decided to have a celebratory cup of tea. Just as the kettle boiled, the left-hand rod was away resulting in a 30lb 4oz mirror. This really was turning into a dream session!

From then on, I caught consistently throughout my session despite the weather changes, and it seemed the more bait I put out in front of them, the more they wanted it! Constant slicking on the spots, and there wasn’t a point where I didn’t think I wouldn’t get a bite! Even whilst I was packing up, I was still receiving bites and yet another one of the A-team slipped up, a fish called ‘Your Mrs’ at 46lb 6oz. All I could do was laugh every time I landed a fish! Even though the issue with kelp meant I lost fish, the bailiffs still believe it’s the best session anyone’s ever had on the pit, which is a massive thing to say.

The final tally was 31 bites with 24 landed, which was made up of 4x doubles, 9x 20’s, 7x 30’s, 3x 40’s and the 50.

I went through 35kg of Krill active, 7kg of pellets and 2 trays of corn. Fishing with either the pink Pastel Mulbz, or the yellow Signature Squids, mounted on a really simple knotless knot hair rig, balanced with a small split shot.

What a week, 5 nights with 14hrs of sleep the entire time. As the saying goes, effort equals reward!