Catching the Carp of a Lifetime!
When an angler the pedigree of Simon Crow describes a capture as the ‘carp of a lifetime’, you know it must be something very special indeed!
Despite having caught carp to more than 86lb in his lifetime, a real giant from a French public was something Crowy dearly craved, and to do it on the Devil’s Lake, the mighty Lac du Salagou, would be the icing on the cake.
Well, wouldn’t you know it, earlier this week, that moment actually came to pass, when 10 days into a 12-day trip on one of the most unforgiving venues in Europe, Crowy landed an absolute behemoth of a mirror carp, tipping the scales at an incredible 75lb 4oz (34.13kg)!
Crowy takes up the story: “A 12-night trip to the ‘Devil’s Lake’ in southern France saw all my dreams come true when I landed my carp of a lifetime, weighing 75lb 4oz, or 34.13kg.
“The session started badly when my camp was completely wiped out by a storm on the first night. Despite seeing warning signs for strong wind on the drive down, I stupidly set up in the wrong place, only to be woken in the early hours by my brolly being ripped apart and in the bushes! Thankfully, I had pliers, a needle, thread and lots of long banksticks to get through the rest of the trip. It was by far the strongest wind I’d encountered while fishing, but nothing compared to what the lake is known for (the ‘Devil’).
“I knew there were carp in the area, as I kicked things off with a low-thirty mirror in the morning. The next week saw me plagued by catfish and flat-calm conditions. It wasn’t the best weather for carp fishing, but with a change in forecast on my last two days, I sensed something might give when fish began to show.
“Just before first light on day 10, I was awoken by a bitty take which resulted in a slow, plodding big-fish battle. I could see it was a good ’un by the width of its shoulders, and when it rolled into the net, my wishes of a big public-water carp were before me. Despite enjoying all forms of carp fishing (public or pay lake), there is something very special about the public lakes of France; the effort needed to fish them, their wildness, the anglers and, of course, the sense of achievement. I finished the trip with another 30-pounder before heading home. A massive thanks to my old mate Jim Lightfoot for helping with the photos and weighing. Also, a big thanks to Rich Allen and his wife Lindsey for pre-session info.”
Crowy received the bite from his carp of a lifetime on a Secret 7/PB snowman presentation, which he fished over a mixture of 26mm Secret 7 and SLK boilies.
