Angler's patience rewarded with 32lb glory as he lands new fishery best.
At 32lb 4oz this chunky mirror sets a new venue record for Somerset carp water Carpenters Lake.

The fish, known as Joey, was captured this week by Frome-based angler Adam Green after the local rod put in a string of sessions to catch the specimen which broke it’s own record for the water that previously stood at 31lb 6oz.

“Before this Adam had been pretty unlucky and his best from the water was just 12lb,” venue owner Neil Carpenter told Total Carp. “I had a feeling he’d catch something special eventually though, and this capture is well deserved.”

Arriving at the water, located on the outskirts of the small village of Wanstrow, at 10am on Monday (June 25) Adam employed solid bag tactics using the Fox Rapide Load system with Hinders Little Gems micro pellets. Fishing along the reed-lined margin, Adam presented a Dynamite Baits Terry Hearn 50/50 balanced hookbait on a size 8 Nash Twister hook to a 3inch hook link of stripped back Nash Missing Link which the fish eventually found irresistible.

“I went down to see him in the evening and he’d just recast his baits ready for the night,” continued Neil. “I told him that if he had a decent fish to text me, when I woke up the next morning the message read ‘I’ve got a 30 in the sack!’”

The all-important bite came at 5am on the Tuesday morning, giving Adam a one-toner to hit. After a solid tussle, the fish was on the bank and he knew it was the biggest in the lake and a new personal best.

“It’s the first time this fish has been caught since last May 2011,” said Neil. “It got caught four times in a row between February and May last year at a venue best weight of 31lb 6oz. It went into the lake at 16lb six years ago and it’s great to see it doing so well.”

As well as Joey, Carpenters all boasts another 30, a 29 and a string of 20s, including four 20lb plus commons, the biggest of which was captured two weeks ago at 24lb 12oz.

For more details on fishing Carpenters Lake, click here.

And to follow the fishing and news at the venue on its Facebook page, click here.