After an eight-year break from angling, Becky Hatt rekindled her love for the sport in the most incredible fashion, hooking a huge 25lb common carp on the pole!
Heading down to Dave’s Lake at Nell Bridge Farm in Oxfordshire, the 26-year-old put her new 9m pole to the ultimate test when she connected with something far bigger than she'd bargained for.
"When I arrived at the lake, I had a little walk around and found a nice corner which had a warm wind blowing in," she told us.
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"I chose to fish 4m out and caught carp up to 2lb regularly."
As the session drew to a close, Becky placed a sweetcorn hookbait into a margin spot she had been feeding with 4mm Sticky Baits Manilla pellets and corn, and it wasn’t long before she received a bite…
"After a battle which seemed to last a lifetime (45 minutes in fact), I landed a beautiful common carp.
"At this stage, I still didn’t know how big it was. My main priority was fish care and safety.
“When I saw the scales go to 25lb, I couldn’t believe my eyes and I was filled with so much excitement.
"It was the best feeling in the world, especially being a female and using just a pole with 5lb line, a 16 hook and a 10-14 elastic.
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“It was a very proud moment for me knowing I’d just caught my personal best!”
The memorable session was Becky's first time fishing since she last went with her dad, Steve Hatt, who unfortunately passed away recently. What a great way to honour his memory by continuing what he loved to do, catching fish obviously runs in the family!
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