Free Line 109 — October 2026 - Flipbook - Page 110
EXCLUSIVE
r i ght. It was one of th o s e
r a re occas ions where inst i n c t
t e lls you s omething specia l i s
a b out to h appen.
The first bite pro duce d a
l o vely upper twenty mi r r o r.
I t was quickly unhoo ked a n d
r e turned. A beaut iful c a r p ,
b u t not the one I was a f t e r.
T he following mo rning, a t
a r ound nine o’clock, an o t h e r
r o d burst into life. Th is t i m e
a n immaculate upper th i r ty
m i rror slid over the net c o r d .
I t deserved a few photo gra p h s
b e fore
swimming
aw a y,
a n other stunning Wraysb u r y
c a rp added to an al re a d y
m emorable
campa ign.
As
e v ening arrived, the ful l m o o n
c l i mbed into the sky and o n c e
a g ain everything fe lt p erf e c t.
T he rods were positio ned a n d
t h e traps were set.
Less tha n an hour l ater m y
p h one rang. It was m y g o o d
f r i end Ca rl. He asked i f I
c o uld bring my camera ro u n d
a n d then apologised. He h a d
c a ught The Long Sutto n. I t i s
BigCarp 108
difficult to describe exactly
h o w I f e l t . I w a s g e n ui n e l y
delighted for Carl because
moments like that deserve to
b e s h a r e d, b ut n a t u r a l l y t h e r e
w a s d i s a p p o in t m e n t t o o . A f t e r
months of effort, hearing
t h o se w o r d s w a s h a r d t o t a k e.
I wo u n d th e r o d s i n , p i c k e d u p
my camera and made my way
a r o u n d t h e l a k e. C a r l e v e n s a i d
I did not have to come if I did
not want to see it, but there
was never any chance of that.
Friendships in carp fishing
are built around moments like
t h e s e, a n d I w a n t e d t o s h a r e
t h e o c c a si o n w i t h h i m .
T h e re wa s a n o t h e r p o s i t i v e
to take from it. The fish had
been caught only yards from
w h e r e I h a d b e e n f i s h i n g. I t
c o n f i r m e d e v e r y t h i n g. T h e
l o c a t i o n . T h e t i m i n g. T h e
homework. I knew I was in
e x a c tl y t h e r i g h t p l a c e.
Later that evening the rods
went back onto the same spots.
T h e n i g h t p a s s e d i n c o mp l e t e
s i l e n c e. N o t a s i n g l e b l e e p
