Jamie Hopson's star turn.

I have been extremely remiss in not keeping this latest news section up to date. I think I have been over-whelmed by the pace of our Facebook updates, as well as being away for over three weeks. Maybe I should ask Simon to write these updates too! I will do my best to pick out some highlights of the last month or so.

From a fishing perspective, some cracking Carp continued to get caught up until mid-November (when Mark Bullock had the new Cherry Springs record at 39lb on the 15 November) and since then following the arrival of hard frosts the fishing has slowed up (just as you would expect).

During our absence we had our first ever fire in one of the Lodges (Heron Lodge). This was caused by a Lithium battery mal-functioning and causing a fire. Fortunately the guests were still up (at 21.30) and were able, with the use of the fire blanket, to get the battery and chair out of the Lodge before extensive damage was done and avoiding the risk to life. A real wake up call! This was despite having signs up about not charging batteries in the Lodge. I will come back to this in a dedicated update in the next week.

The star of my period away was undoubtedly Jamie Hopson who stayed in Grebe Lodge with his business partner Alan Gilles. Alan and Jamie run the well known bait company Kent Particles.

Whilst Alan caught, Jamie really smashed it. He caught some fantastic fish including the three pictured here. I have picked these because they are all new entries into our 2024 30+ catalogue. The running total for the year now stands at 69 different Carp over 30lb including 10 over 40lb).

Jamie's biggest Carp was the big Common I know as 'the Swirl' at 38-08. His Common of 32-08 caught my eye because it is so distinctive and was not a fish I recognised. Indeed having checked the catalogues it is a brand new 30 for us.

All three of the Carp caught by Jamie and featured here are obviously not easy to catch. It could have been because of the time of the year and they were on the munch. It could also be due to the fact Jamie was trialling a brand new 'Liver' bait, which I understand smelt great? Regardless, extremely well done Jamie.

I apologise to all the other anglers catching some great fish but not featured here. Some of your photos have 'disappeared'!

My final photo is the one below showing a koi-like Common caught by Martyn Collinge in early November.

This Carp has been with us from the beginning. It is rarely caught and is a steady grower adding 1-2 pounds a year. Hopefully the next time we see him (I think its a him!) he will be another addition to our ranks of 30lb+ Carp.

Martin also caught the Common known as Crinkle-Tail at 37-08. This Carp is 2lb up in weight since being caught last March. Well done Martyn.