Big Common Caught at 46lb and Average Catch Size Jumps to 33lb

The full story of the stocking and capture of Oakview Lake's big common, including tactics used in this big carp fishing session.

Watch the Oakview Lake big common being chosen and added to the carp stock

The story of Oakview Lake's big common started with Oakview Facebook friends being asked to guess which one of two 45lb common carp was chosen to be added to the lake's stock. The majority of people guessed correctly.

The First Capture at 46lb

Carp angler Mike Hiscock becomes the first to catch the 46lb common, smashing his own PB and claiming a new lake record for a common carp caught at Oakview Lake. Fishing from the home swims, Mike caught it from a baited area near the right margin about 30 yards out. The exact spot was 2 foot to the left of the sunken tree's branches. Mike's hookbait was a 10mm Krill boilie popped up in light silt over a bed of freebies.

A Host of High 30s Added to the Total Catch

During the same session, Alan Downes caught 15 carp including 11 over 30lb and 4 other 20s from his swim on the far bank. Norris Creamfields added 2 more big 30s and a 20lb mirror to the total haul from his swim on the left bank. In total, 19 carp were banked, with 14 weighing between 30lb and 46lb. The other 5 carp ranged from 20lb 9oz to 29lb.

Tactics Used For Catching Big Carp

Most of the big carp came from the left margin in or near the deep bowl. Other spots included the island and open water. The best tactics included semi-slack lines and hook baits using a range of boilies, corn and small pop-ups. Chod rigs worked well when casting to showing fish. Small baits and light leads worked best. Boilie flavours were coconut and Krill. In all, 60kg of bait was used, including pellet, particle and boilies. Bait boats were not used on this occasion. The average size of carp caught using these tactics was an impressive 33lb.