We have 14 fine winter catches for you this week. They come from all over the country, from excellent carp for experienced anglers to youngsters landing their first carp. If you would like to submit a catch report for either Carp-Talk or Carp-Talk Xtra simply click the following link and follow the simple step-by-step procedure. www.carptalk-online.co.uk

Dateline:__September 1992

Anglers:>   Simon White

Weight:>>>36¼lb Venue:@@Billing Aquadrome

Simon White landed Bob Reynolds’ big mirror again in

the autumn of 1992, thirty-one years on from its first

capture - it may have been the sole survivor from the original stocking of November 1935.

Enterprise Tackle Zig Rig/Surface Baits

These ultra-buoyant hookbaits are specifically designed to lift the long hooklinks associated with zig rigs and surface fishing. The wide range of colours available gives you the optimum choice to suit various light conditions. Colours include yellow, red, chum mixer, black or a mixed pack including white, brown and luminous.

They can be trimmed to size to match fly hatches and will perform well when used as a pop-up whilst fishing on the bottom or indeed as a part of a snowman hookbait. Because of their porous nature they also absorb flavours and glugs well. These baits also resist the attention of nuisance species and they come supplied in packs of ten.

If you’d like to get your hands on a selection of Enterprise Tackle Zig Rig/Surface Baits, simply send an email to competitions@carptalk-online.co.uk marking the subject line “Enterprise Zig Baits Giveaway”. One lucky winner will be chosen at random from entries received and the closing date for entries is Tuesday 9th March. The winner will be announced in the next issue of Carp-Talk Xtra. Please don’t forget to add your contact details, name, address, etc.

Over 50 years ago Billing Aquadrome, near Northampton was a most notable big carp water, coming to prominence in the late 1950s when a local carp mad angler, Bob Reynolds, recorded an unprecedented five

carp over 20lb in a week. Then in 1961 he again set the angling world alight with another giant carp, this time the largest recorded that year, a superb 33lb 2oz mirror.

Wind the clock forward to 1988 and two local specialist carp anglers, Mark Harrison and Russ Labrum started a campaign to ascertain whether Billing had any surprises left. They implemented a heavy baiting campaign and in the first week of September success came to Russ when at 3am he had a run and after a strong tussle brought ashore a tremendous 33lb 3oz mirror.

At the start of the 1989 season Mark resumed his determined approach to the water, this included many nights sitting quietly by his rods waiting for a big fish to bite. His prayers were answered in the shape of a 36lb mirror. This was more than a just reward for Mark, who showed that through sheer effort and plain good angling he could come up with the goods.

When compiling my King Carp Waters book in the early 1990s, late one evening I was here at home in my Carproom looking through the pictures Russ and Mark had sent me when it suddenly clicked that the fish they had caught recently - the 33lb 3oz and 36-

pounder - looked familiar. After checking, it dawned on me that it was one and the same fish that Bob Reynolds had caught way back in 1961!

When Russ banked it in 1988 some twenty-seven years later, it had altered in weight by only one single ounce!

Then in September 1992 I spotted in the angling press a report of a 37¼lb mirror from Billing. The picture confirmed this grand old warrior as the same thirty-pounder that Bob Reynolds, Mark Harrison and Russ Labrum had caught previously.

The angler who landed the fish, Simon White, told me that it’s known as ‘Samson.’ Not a bad name for a carp that was approaching its sixtieth birthday!