WHEN Bob Helingoe set out on a bream fishing trip on the River Severn, the last thing he expected to be holding up for the cameras was a near-40lb carp!
Fishing with his son, Chris, on a guided boat day with Ash Bradley of Severn Expeditions, the pair of pleasure anglers headed for a stretch where, on arrival, the water fizzed, with bream rolling and jumping.
Bob and Chris cast out cage feeders filled with groundbait, pellets and crushed hemp, alongside corn and maggot cocktail hookbaits, but before they had even hooked a bream, Bob was into something altogether more powerful.
“The first fish I hooked zoomed off with frightening velocity, but then spat out the hook. By the time the next bite came, however, I was ready,” he said.
“An epic battle followed, with the carp going on blistering 50yd runs. I was only using 7lb line and a size 12 hook, so it was a bit of a challenge!”
Eventually though, the fish tired, and guide Ash slipped the net under the unexpected prize.
“Weighing 37lb 7oz, it was a beautifully-scaled carp,” Bob added.
“Chris spent the rest of the trip catching bream to 7lb, while I spent it shaking and then grinning. What a day!”
