When you think of big carp fishing in the UK, places like Surrey, Essex, and the Cotswolds might come to mind as prime locations for landing specimen fish. One area that is seldom mentioned is Cornwall, but as Aaron Bunning proved with his latest capture—the biggest mirror carp ever to come from the region, weighing 51lb 1oz—there are more big carp there than people may realise.
Aaron, who works in Waterfront Fishing in Bude, was 34 nights into his ticket on the Oaks Syndicate, a sister lake to the renowned Spooky Pool, owned by Jack Bazeley. The Spooky Pool has already produced two huge ghost carp, both surpassing the 50lb mark, but on this particular session, he had a take that would rewrite the history of carp fishing in the area.
"I had the take at approximately 5pm on my second night of a 48-hour session, having banked a mid-20 mirror the previous evening. As fate would have it, Jack Bazeley (the lake owner) had just arrived," Aaron told us.
"We were deep in conversation when the line on my left-hand rod flickered before tearing off. As I picked up the rod, Jack ironically said, 'That will be the Lin.' My rod immediately hooped into a battle curve as braid zipped through the rings," he added.
"I managed to turn her just before the far bank, upon which she kited right into the remains of a weed bed."
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Thankfully, the fish didn't manage to bury itself in the weed, with Aaron using his experience to guide it through. After navigating the snag, the fish rolled on the surface, revealing itself as a good one before charging off towards a small island just out of his swim. Aaron tried to remain composed as adrenaline surged through him—realising he was attached to one of the lake's big fish.
"I think Jack knew which one it was at this point as he started recording proceedings. After a couple more decent runs she was beaten and I guided her into the waiting net."
"As she hit the spreader block Jack said "you know which one it is don't you" in hindsight I think I knew which fish it was fairly early in to the fight but refused to believe it was the Lin until I could physically touch the fish sulking in the folds of the net."
"At this point the adrenaline got the better of me and I became a bit of a bumbling mess pacing around the swim assembling the various pieces of photography, fish care and weighing equipment required."
After taking a few moments to realise what was happening, while the fish rested in the net, Aaron with the help of owner Jack, got everything in place to weigh the fish and care for it while on the bank. Having joined the lake to break his previous PB of 45lb, the pair knew this fish looked big enough to obliterate it, but neither wanted to commit to saying anything until it was weighed.
"Once everything was ready, we placed her in a sling and carried her over to the waiting mat. She felt heavy and somehow looked even bigger now," he recalled.
"I lifted the weigh crook, and Jack read 51lb 1oz. I thought he might be winding me up had it not been for the sincerity and genuine elation in his voice."
"The fish fell to a KD rig constructed from ESP tungsten hooklength and ESP Cryogen Slammer hooks," he said.
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"I'm not afraid to say that my arms were struggling as Jack fired off some superb shots in challenging light conditions. As you can see, she was looking incredible in her winter colours, certainly thriving, having not seen the bank for 11 months."
"After she was released, we both revelled in the moment—both of us very content to have achieved a big ambition. Jack’s was to get the fish to 50lb-plus, having already achieved this with two ghost carp residing in his other venue."
"It was an absolute pleasure to share the moment with him, and I am very grateful for his assistance and photography once we got her on the bank."
"The next ten minutes were spent punching the air while repeating, 'I have done it!' before I set about sending some pictures to my close mates."
"A few hours later, my good friend Shane brought me a bottle of bubbly, and we sat and made a toast to Cornwall’s first 50lb mirror. What a moment. I have been overwhelmed by the positivity and well wishes on social media over the last few days. I still have a silly smirk on my face, and I think that will remain for a while to come," he concluded.y face and think that will remain for a while to come," he concluded.
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