IS THIS CARP FISHING’S BEST NEW YEAR SESSION EVER?
In the annals of carp-fishing history, there can’t have been many New Year sessions quite like the one Thomas Martinali experienced when he brought in 2025 on Embryo Angling’s Cawcutts Lake in Cambridgeshire.
In just a few short hours either side of New Year, Thomas broke his personal best twice with 40lb-plus mirrors known as the Wonky Lin and Miss May, as well as four other fish in an incredible six-fish hit.
“I’m not sure many people would have experienced a New Year like mine,” said Tom.
“I had initially attempted to get some good time on the bank before Christmas, but due to circumstances out of my control, I was unable to get the rods out and enjoy some much-needed downtime.
“Christmas came and went and with my fiancée off work, she asked if I wanted to go fishing. This was what I had been waiting for!
“I told my family I was going fishing and my gobby older brother said it was more like camping; it would only be fishing once I’d banked a fish. Well, bank a fish I did, six of them in total, including two PBs!
“Arriving in the dark on New Year’s Eve, I set up with excitement both for what the session may hold and the New Year itself.
“While emptying my bladder, one of my rods came to life while I was in full flow! All went quite briefly, I shuck the snake and reached for a headtorch to check my rod. As I did this, the left-had rod ripped off again and I was in! Weighing in at 25lb 8oz, I was buzzing and would have been happy even if I hadn’t caught anything else.
“At around 8pm, with low pressure and 40mph winds, it was time for my right-hand rod to get in on the action. I could feel this fish had some weight to it, even though it came in with relative ease. I placed the fish in the sling and due to the hook point being damaged, I proceeded to tie a new rig before getting the rod back on the spot.
“At 8:30pm, I was in again, on the middle rod this time. As I lifted into the fish, I was buzzing, recognising all three rods had now had action and I could be in for quite a session. I placed the fish in the sling, got the rod back out and proceeded to weigh the fish, coming in at 21lb 4oz.
“Being a bore, I sent my ‘Happy New Year; messages just after 10pm and tried to get my head down – but this was when the magic happened! At 11:30pm, I woke up to my right-hand rod ripping off. Reacting quicker than I needed to, I ran out in joggers, T-shirt and hoody, leaving my nice thermals behind. The 40mph chilly winds hit my bones fast – it wasn’t pleasant. As soon as I lifted into this fish, I knew it was decent. The scrap was pretty intense, with the fish attempting to take out my other rods, taking line at will. I had no headtorch and couldn’t see a thing. After a long old scrap, I slid the net under the fish and immediately took a video. I was pretty happy, thinking I had a thirty in the sling. However, as I lifted the fish out of the water, I was stunned at its weight. It’s worth mentioning at this point that each fish I’d landed during the session was unhooked in the water and transferred to the sling, so at this point I’d not seen the fish properly. As I placed the fish on the mat and finally had my headtorch on, my excitement grew. The fish was a proper lump. Known as the Wonky Lin, it came in at a new top weight for the lake at 41lb 10oz and was a new PB for me – buzzing!
“As I tried to take photos, the fish was having none of it, and when it started to play ball, my camera pod would blow over! The frustration of capturing these photos all disappeared as suddenly fireworks started going off everywhere at the same time. This could only mean one thing – it was now 2025! At that moment I recognised the last thing I did in 2024 was bank a new PB and the first thing I did in 2025 was take photos of it with fireworks going off behind my camera.
“I got awoken again just after 3am when my middle rod rattled off, a mid-double giving me my fifth fish of the session. At this point I was debating if I should put the rod back out, as I really needed some sleep and needed to tie another rig, as I was no longer happy with the hook point. I’m glad I put the effort in, let me tell you!
“At 8am the middle rod that I nearly left out of the water was off again! This beauty held the bottom, felt heavy and took line at will, putting up a cracking fight. Thankful to be experiencing this during daylight, as it made navigating the lines of my other two rods a lot easier, I noticed the lead hadn’t dropped. I got a bit nervous as the fish proceeded to head shake. After what felt like an hour, I was able to slip the net under what appeared to be another lump that I guessed to be a thirty. Reasonably calm, I unhooked the fish in the water and transferred it to the sling.
