An unbelievable Red Letter session has been enjoyed by Solar Tackle team member Ignace De Roeck. In just 24 hours he landed a sought-after target fish in the shape of a black, 46lb+ common. Incredibly he then went on to land another forty, a stunning 39lb mirror and no less than seven other carp from a, reputably, hard water
An unbelievable Red Letter session has been enjoyed by Solar Tackle team member Ignace De Roeck. In just 24 hours he landed a sought-after target fish in the shape of a black, 46lb+ common. Incredibly he then went on to land another forty, a stunning 39lb mirror and no less than seven other carp from a, reputably, hard water while out putting the new TunaMino test baits through their paces.
Ignace explains: “I arrived at the lake, a 4-hectare syndicate water in Flanders, Belgium, with a 24-hour session ahead of me. It’s a deep gravel pit with plenty of snags, and it can be tricky as the carp can be tough to locate.
“The plan was to fish two different swims over the course of the 24 hours using Solar’s new TunaMino test baits, which have already helped me land on of my targets this year on my first session using them! I baited both swims with a scattering of TunaMino boilies, putting more into the second swim as this was where I planned to fish the night and so the swim could ‘rest’ all day with no lines in the water.
“The first swim was a tight spot between two fallen trees right among the snags. It’s really a one-rod, stalking spot and I planned to use just the one rod and fish there during the daylight hours only. It would be ‘suicide’ to try and fish that area at night, which is why I had primed a second swim for the evening and night. The second swim was on the other side of the lake with plenty of open water and a much better option for landing fish in the dark.
“Flicking a chod rig among the freebies and setting the one rod on the single sticks and alarm, I sat right next to the rod so I could be ‘on it’ quickly. It didn’t take long for the first bite, less than 30 minutes, but I lost it shortly after picking the rod up when the line parted. I guess it must have caught on some of the zebra mussels that are common in this venue.
“I was gutted, as you can imagine, but I didn’t have to wait long for another chance. Within the hour I was in again. A powerful fish put up a hell of fight as it surged left and right in an attempt to get among the snags. It was clearly a big fish and my heart was in my mouth as I had to hold on and give as little line as possible due to the proximity of the snags.
“As the fish twisted in the clear water I saw that is was a big, dark fish. It could only be one known as The Black Common, which is usually around the mid forty mark. With my heart in my mouth it seemed like hours before I finally slid the fish over the net cord, which was really no more than a few minutes!
“With the carp in the net I confirmed my thoughts. It was indeed The Black Common, which tipped the scales at just over 46lb. I called a good friend to come and shoot some pics and soon released her back into the clear water.
“As expected, due to all the commotion, the following few hours were very quiet on the carp front, so it was time to move.
“It took a couple of hours to get settled in the swim on the other side of the lake, but with everything in position I was taken by surprise as one of the rods was away almost immediately, the culprit being a small common. I put the rod back out and scattered a handful of TunaMino baits over the top. With such quick action I assumed that a good amount of the bait I put in in the morning had already been eaten.
“Just 30 minutes passed before I was doing battle again. This time it felt much better as the hooked fish took off on a slow, powerful run in the deep water. The fish stayed deep for the whole fight, but after the ‘hit and hold’ battle with the big common earlier that day, it was calm and relaxed in comparison.
“It was another forty! A 41lb 8oz mirror. Not only that. It was one of the few well-known bigguns that a was still on my ‘missing list’. I couldn’t belive it. Two forties from this venue in a day… I wasn’t expecting that!
“Again, topping up the swim with a few handfuls of TunaMino boilies after each take the action continued through the night and I landed another 3 carp, the biggest being 27lb, but at the break of dawn another, bigger carp made a mistake. Again a long, slow fight in the deep water ensued before another big mirror slid onto the net. This one weighed in at 39lb, and who can think of a better way to start a day.
“Pictures done and with the mirror returned I started to slowly pack up as time was running out. Incredibly, another 3 carp, all smaller specimens, fell to my rods giving me a final Tally of 10 carp for the 24-hour session.
“It’s certainly a trip I’ll never forget.”