Phil Spinks - The Accidental Mirror

This entry was posted on 1st April, 2020

Back in 2012 I was a very lucky angler, catching my biggest ever carp while targeting tench. Seeing as we’re all now stuck inside, I thought it would a good time to share my throwback story with you.

I have always had a fondness towards the charity lakes at Lenwade, Norfolk. It was a venue that I grew up fishing and was push bike distance from the nearby village of Reepham where I lived as a youngster.

I caught my first ever 20lb carp here back in 1994 and have some great memories fishing for both the carp and tench at these lakes. There are three lakes on the complex and funnily enough the lake named the “tench lake” had the largest stock of tench and catches of 20-30 tench in a day where achievable.

After a break from the venue for several years I decided to return as one particular carp in the main lake had now grown huge, at over 50lb. The thought of catching the largest carp in Norfolk from a lake I knew so well was very appealing. In between carp fishing trips I decided to enjoy the prolific tench fishing too.

I planned to fish for the carp up until around late April then switch over to tench for a few trips during May and June. Early spring 2012 I was consistently catching a few carp from the main lake feeling very close to catching the bigg’un. Then one evening disaster struck. I was fishing a less popular area of the lake, I'd found a nice gravelly area around 10 foot deep surrounded by depths of around 15-16 foot. I received a bream like bite, the bobbin pulled up tight almost like a strong line bite. I crouched next to the rod and the bobbin was pulled up tight so I decided the lift into it. At first it felt very bream like just kiting and plodding, although possibly a big bream. Then as it pumped the fish closer it began pulling back harder. Maybe it was a carp?

The closer it came the heavier it felt taking a few yards of line as it plodded up and down the margins. With what was now very obviously a big carp chugging around under my rod tip, I positioned the net ready to scoop up my prize. As I applied steady pressure it suddenly dawned on me I was attached to the biggun. The fish was now on a very short line only moments away from being netted. Then disaster, the hook pulled!! I felt I hadn’t done anything wrong, I was being very careful, but it simply fell off!

I can’t lie this really wounded me. The lake was now becoming very busy with other carpers and I wasn’t enjoying the fishing as much. The thought of catching a 50lb carp had kept my enthusiasm high. I’d just had my chance and buggered it up! I decided to take a break from the carp and target the tench for a few weeks. I felt my best chance of catching the big carp would be later in the summer off the top when I could almost sight fish for it.

I returned the following week and decided that I was going to fish the main lake for tench. It had less tench but a much better average size. It was quality rather than quantity that I was after.

I joked with my fishing pal, Tommy that I better take my larger 42” net just in case that big mirror likes a caster. Swim choice was important on this lake, the tench preferred the shallower weedy areas. When arriving at the lake all my favourite tench swims where occupied by carpers.

I decided to head to the far end of the lake in the deeper swims. I’d seen numbers of tench rolling in these swims before but never caught many tench in these swims. It wasn’t ideal but I had very little options.

Both rods where set up using flat method feeders with short braided hooklinks and size 12 hooks baited with three rubber casters. I spodded a mixture of casters, hemp, small pellets and maggots to the bottom of an island drop off.

Bites started almost straight away, with an hour I'd caught a few big roach and a couple of bream but no tench. The next bite was very roachy, the bobbin just bouncing up and down behind the alarm. In my infinite wisdom I decided to attempt to put the line in the line clip before pulling into the roach to save making a false cast afterwards.

While fumbling with the line clip the line started pulling tight, too tight to be a roach. I aborted trying to clip up as I thought I might be connected to my first tench.

It’s funny but as soon as I lifted into the bite I knew what was on the other end. It could best be described as a swimming snag. Within the first 20 seconds of the fight what was very clearly the big carp powered across the surface attached to my tiny size 12 tench hook.

Trying to stay calm I imagined I was playing a 15lb carp rather than a potential 50lb carp. After all the 1.75lb rods I was using had landed me several double figure barbel in the past so they would be man enough for big carp.

The carp went on several strong runs, but I felt confident in my set up and didn’t hold back too much. Each powerful run became shorter and shorter and after a very nerve wracking fifteen-minute battle the huge carp appeared on the surface just out of netting range. At this point I lost my cool slightly and grabbed the net and waded out while wearing trainers and trousers to scoop up the carp.

With help from my good friend Addie who lived less than five minutes from the lake we weighed the big carp and took a few pictures. It was huge, weighing 52lb 2oz. Slightly ironic that I should lose the carp on carp gear then fluke it on my tench rods. Better to be lucky sometimes...