Kevin Chapman has a 37lb PB

On the surface results from Cherry Lake have been disappointing in terms the number of Carp caught over the last couple of weeks. The size of the Carp has been good, but the numbers caught lowish. However we seem to be on a run of where more Carp are lost rather than caught! Over the last week we have had 6 Carp landed but 8 Carp lost. Had these 8 Carp all been landed, my write up may have been very different!

Around spawning time, Dave always thinks that the Carp's mouth is softer and this results in hook pulls. Whilst I am not convinced by this, we are agreed that this 'softer mouth' is not a 'syndrome' that happened at this time of the year. I can only think it is a combination of inefficient rigs/blunt hooks, how the Carp have been played and/or simply bad luck are all causal factors!

We have however had some good Carp caught........

Regular guest Gary Hutchins returned to Cherry Lake this weekend and caught 'The Peach' just after dark on Friday evening at 34-12. Unfortunately the self-photography was not great. Rather than not running a photo of this special Carp, I have re-run the photo of when I caught her in May at a similar weight in the lead photo above.

'Interestingly of the Carp being landed we have had a run of fully scaled Mirrors. This started in my last update of James Hine's lovely 31lb Carp (see last update). The first this week was a 32-04 fish caught by Jim Houghton from Heron Lodge pictured above. This lovely Carp is a first time 30 for us, and is another example of good weight gain this summer.

Jim also proved himself to be a good 'Roach' angler. He enjoyed himself during his stay catching around 100 Roach whilst sitting in the sun waiting for his Carp rods to go off. In doing so he helped with our Roach removal efforts. Thanks Jim. So please don't forget, if you are coming to Cherry Lakes always pack a float rod, if you fancy an extra bit of fun!

The biggest has been a 37lb fully scaled Mirror caught by Kevin Chapman from the Cottage swim pictured below. He positioned his bait under the near over-hanging Willow tree (in front of the house), taking advantage of a warm southerly wind blowing on the house bank. The big Mirror fell for his trap around eleven in the morning and I was delighted to get a call from his fishing partner Julie to say they have a big Carp in the net.

I was not sure if I recognised this Carp, and noting that Kevin was struggling to present the fish for a photograph, I had my photo taken with the Carp as it would help me identify the fish in my 30's catalogue later. This particular Carp, as well as being rarely caught, is clearly a fast growing individual. It last appeared in my 30's catalogue in August 2021 when caught by Lee Smith at 32-08. At this weight last year, it was a first time 30lb+ Carp for us.

This time, she went 37-02 on the scales. A weight gain of almost 5lb in just over a year. Given the frame on this Carp, and this rate of weight gain, I would not be surprised to see her join the ranks of the 40+ in the next 18 months or so.

I hope you don't think it is indulgent, or worst arrogant, but I have run here a photo of Kevin with the Carp (above), which I am sure many anglers would not believe weighed as much as 37lb. I have also run below a photo of the same fish held by myself, in which it does look like it is 37lb. Who says pictures can't lie!

Well done to all the anglers mentioned above