Incredibly, he also landed mirrors of 36lb+ and an upper twenty in an overnighter on the Weasmere syndicate using the new TunaMino boilies.

36lb

Ignace explains: “I knew from my previous trips that some fish were holding up in a particular area of the lake, and I’d done well in this area on the previous session. So, the plan was to get back in to the same swim as soon as possible before the other anglers heard about the captures and beat me to it.

“When I arrived at the lake the weather was terrible. It was raining cats and dogs and with only 5 degrees air temperature. It’s no fun to walk the lake and set up in those conditions, but the important thing was that the lake was empty and so ‘my’ swim was all mine again.

“Half an hour later everything was set and the rods where in position. Just 5 minutes after my second rod was on the spot I had a bream. It was a good sign that fish were feeding, but I prayed that they would not be in the swim all night.

“Fortunately the bream left me alone and a few hours later I had my first proper bite of the trip. Everything ran smoothly, the fish fought in the deep water and slowly came into the margins where it kited left to right. Suddenly the fish was off. I could not believe it or work out why; I was standing there in the cold rain full of disbelief at what had just happened.

“After much cursing to myself I cast the rod back to the same spot. Again a TunaMino hook bait and a scattering of TunaMino freebies set the trap. At around midnight I had another take on my left-hand rod. This fish had to be landed; if I lost two on the bounce then I’d go mental. The fish fought well and my heart was in my mouth for the whole thing, but soon enough it slipped into my net and the first one of the session was in the bag; a nice, near 30lb mirror.

30lb

“A sigh of relief and I put everything back in place, topping off with a few more handful of TunaMino boilies. In the early morning my other rod tore off and the alarm screamed out. On picking up the rod this fish instantly felt like a better one. After a slow battle, mostly in the margins, a stunning 36lb+ mirror was mine.

“What an overnighter so far! Secretly I was hoping for another bite during the morning in daylight before packing up. At around 9am it happened and the right-hand rod was away again.

“Full of adrenaline I pulled on my waders and the fight could start. The carp gave everything, fighting hard and kiting from left to right. There was no doubt that this had to be another good fish.

“With the fight over I peered into the landing net. Laying in the folds of the mesh was an old looking mirror, and it looked big too. It wasn’t a fish I recognized, and it’s always nice to land a carp you have never caught before, especially when it’s 40lb+.

“Despite the wet cold weather and the cold water temperatures, the carp are still on the feed and all the effort was well worth it. However, it would be 2 whole weeks before I could get back for my next session.”