Lee Pearce lands the 3rd 40lb+ Carp of the year
Lee and Terri also land 4 other 30's including two new 30's for us.
Friday 17 February 2023
Regulars Lee Pearce and partner Terri Brebner decided to squeeze in an additional winter trip to Cherry Lake this week, and they are so glad they did. They have also proved that the Cherry Lake Carp are slowly but surely waking up and selectively feeding.
Lee earnt himself a Cherry Lake 40+ fleece when he landed the big Ghost Mirror at 40-06. Fishing principally single baits from Osprey Lodge, Lee and Teri found a couple of spots which have so far produced 5 Carp for them including this Ghostie, our third 40lb+ Carp of the year.
Lee and Terri identified these spots by using a bait boat to locate where groups of Carp were 'sitting' in mid-water and then fishing in these locations. Whilst not working every time, it has proved to be a very successful approach for them, when the carp dropped down for a little feed. Certainly 'food for thought'.
This Ghost Carp is the biggest Ghostie in Cherry Lake. Slightly disappointing for us is that this Carp is down approx. 3lb since it was caught at her biggest weight last October by Rob Murray at 43-08. This beautiful fish looked in great shape and was 'very clean'.
Fishery manager Dave reminded me that some Carp do drop weight over winter and it is nothing to unduly worry about. We are very confident she will be approaching her record weight later this year. For me this was a little disappointed because most of the other Carp we are seeing are up in weight. Time will tell!
Lee has caught two other 30's this visit including this 30-04 Mirror two photos above and the 30-08 Common immediately above. This impressive looking Mirror did not feature in my recent 30+ catalogues, and so I am happy to report that this is a new thirty for us. Judging by her frame, this Carp should get much bigger assuming 'a favourable wind'. It certainly is a Carp which I would like to catch.
Lee and Terri always fish together and supposedly take turns on the rods. Funny how Lee seemed to get to the rods first for the first four takes! I had even encouraged Terri to chain him down to give her a chance of beating him to the rods, but she said 'she did not go in for that sort of thing'!
Well she did get to the rods first for the last Carp (so far) of their visit, when she caught this lovely heavily scaled Mirror of 30-01. This Carp was weighed by fishery manager Dave who was helpfully on hand! I am also delighted to report that this is another new 30 for us. Two new 30's this week......not bad at all!
Well done Lee and Terri on an excellent winter session. Excellent angling. As they say 'you have to be in it......to win it!
The running total of Cherry Lake Carp caught and featuring in this year's 30+ catalogue now stands at 12. Of these 3 were over 40lb+, and so far 3 have been new thirties. I think given the weather, this is a great start to the year.
If you fancy putting 'your face' in our 30's+ catalogue, and enjoying some winter fishing in the 'most comfortable bivvy in the world', then give me a call on 01285 869887. We are offering good late booking deals for the rest of this month (and the forecast looks good).