Paul Sparks sets a new Cherry Lake 30-09 Ghost Mirror record

Paul and Anne Sparks are some of our most regular guests at Cherry Lakes and chose to stay in Grebe Lodge this week. Although Cherry Lake was disappointingly slow, which was surprising to me given two days of good weather and the Carp showing in the upper layers of the water for the first time this year, Paul did well to land three Carp, all above twenty pounds, including a new lake record for a Ghost Mirror of 30-09.

Paul, who had previously caught a 31lb Mirror from Cherry Lake in 2013 before we started the club, becomes the latest member of the 30lb+ club. He caught the Ghostie in  ’reception’ corner  which is along the bank to the left of Grebe Lodge. Paul had noticed a lot of Carp drifting into the corner, and decided to cast a single 10mm bait close to a bankside drop off. He did not have to wait too long before the big ‘Ghostie’ rattled off with his bait.

This is the first time this particular Carp has been caught over 30lb and is the second Ghost Mirror caught over 30lb from Cherry Lake. Paul’s fish beats Ken O’Connors Ghost Mirror of 30-02 from May 2015 by 7oz to set a new record. I have included photos of both Paul’s fish and Ken’s from last year. As you can see these are clearly different fish. It will be interesting to see if ‘Ken’s Ghostie’ gets caught again this Spring to set steal back it’s record status!

We have now clearly identified and recorded twelve different Carp over the magic 30lb mark since the beginning of 2015. Paul’s Ghostie is also the fourth 30lb+ Carp of the year. Other Carp over this weight have been reported, some of which have not been photographed or have been photographed so poorly that it is impossible to identify the Carp. So if you do visit Cherry Lakes and catch a 30lb+ Carp please let us know.

Well done and top angling Paul. We look forward to seeing you and Anne back at Cherry Lakes.