Carl Sharp landed two twenties over the weekend from Cambridgeshire syndicate water Monk's Pit. With the water being very busy, and according to the Wolverhapton-based Solar team member fishing hard due to the pressure, Carl was made up with his two mirrors of 21lb 6oz and 27lb 10oz. Carl used a Seafood Take-Away Corker pop-up presented over a bed of hemp, corn and Seafood Take-Away freebies that he spombed at 80 yards to a small, hard, clear patch. A size 8 Stronghold 101 hook coupled with Solar Easy Strip hook link and setup multi-rig style made up the business end.
Exciting plans afoot for carp bait company. Splashbaits have had an exciting year with the release of a new bait range 'Assassin' which has already yielded catches up to 49lb. A New Year press release from the company explained: "We have seen the release of our very own popup mix and flavoured popups, a new website design and a very successful catch year. Just when we thought the year couldn't end on any better high, Splashbaits were awarded the Best Emerging Bait Company for 2013 as voted for by Total Carp readers.
Pictured here is the mighty Two Scale Split Fin, which is one of the original A team from Lake Juvanzé, France. At 52lb 14oz, this monster was taken on a blow-back rig, size 6 barbless, with a critically balanced Entity barrelthat was shaved down. This was fished over hemp, tigers and a large spread of Entity boilies, which was topped up daily. This trip was my first in France and I finished the session with three lost fish and three landed, that consisted of a 27lb 7oz common, 33lb 8oz mirror and the big one.
Eric's Angling and Total Carp-backed event announces qualifier dates. Eric's Carp Championships, the new high-profile carp fishing competition that has won the backing of top-selling carp fishing magazine, Total Carp, is now open for online entries. The brainchild of Leeds tackle shop, Eric’s angling, the new contest will carry a top individual prize of £30,000 – making it the largest ever single prize in UK specimen fishing. In addition to the winner's purse, the event will carry a runner's-up prize of £6,000 and a third prize pot of £2,500.