PERRY BAGS HIS 60TH 40LB-PLUS UK CARP!

Perry Alabaster’s purple patch on Monks Pit is showing no signs of abating, after he reached yet another milestone in his glittering career, landing his 60th different 40lb-plus UK carp!

After kicking off his session with a 20lb-plus mirror, Perry’s single PB pop-up was later snaffled by one of the Cambridgeshire’s A-team mirrors, a 41lb 13oz mirror that goes by the name of Baby Black Spot.

“Having heard from a friend that the lake had fished very slowly over the past few days, with just two fish being caught on zigs, I decided to arrive very early for this session in the hope of seeing some fish show on first light,” said Perry.

“I was quite surprised to see all the anglers present occupying the shallow-end swims as I got on to the lake, leaving the deeper end totally devoid of lines. I didn’t need to stand in a swim up the far end for long before I saw a few carp stick their heads out. I rushed back to the car park, quickly loaded my barrow, marched it up the deep end and lobbed out a ready-tied PVA bag containing an S7 Corker wafter and Crayfish Mini Mix pellets to an area with a lot of fish activity. With an injection of S7 Amino Smoke into a bag cast at showing fish, it normally doesn’t take long to get a bite and within an hour it produced a 20lb-plus mirror. A nice start!

“I saw a couple of bigger fish show themselves at about 80 yards in front of the vacant swim to my right. I didn’t want to bait up to this area in case anyone jumped in one of the unoccupied swims along the bank, but I felt it could be well worth launching a single PB pop-up on a hinged stiff rig at the showing fish. It’s a tactic that had worked well for me a lot in recent weeks and I knew I’d easily be able to move that rod around should they start showing elsewhere. A couple of hours went by and the lake started to look very lifeless, but as I sat there thinking about where to recast, the single pop-up rod rattled off!

“As I netted the fish, I saw a black spot on its side, which is a heart-stopping moment on Monks considering Black Spot, king on the pond, has reached a weight of over 59lb in the past! It wasn’t actually Black Spot, but probably an even more satisfying capture for me being a fish known as Baby Black Spot. Yet another of the A-team list ticked off and a fish that got me to another personal milestone in my angling, my 60th different UK 40lb-plus fish.”