Carp Fishing Year Review 2015
Carp fishing year in review at Oakview Lake. Includes a summary of carp catches, biggest carp, most carp and video highlights of the year.
In 2015 Oakview Lake welcomed 102 guests, including 64 anglers. Most fished days only, they caught 367 carp, including 33 x 40s, 178 x 30s and 132 x 20s. The average carp size was 33lb.
April - Mike Hiscock Lands Record Common
April and May is usually the best time to catch big carp at Oakview Lake and 2015 was no exception. Mike Hiscock provided the highlight of the month, catching his first ever 40 and the first of many Oakview 40s banked in 2015. His magnificent 46lb common was a new lake record, just 2lb lighter than the lake's biggest ever mirror. Mike was fishing from the home swim to a feature on the right known as the Jezz Ridge.
May - Phil Calladine Hits the Sweet Spot
In May Phil Calladine found the sweetest spot on the lake and landed 3 forty pounders in a row from it. Phil became the first ever Oakview angler to achieve this and he bagged a 46lb 2oz new lake record common while he was at it. Phil helped us make a video explaining what, where and how he did it. Eddie Lloyd banked a 46lb mirror from the same spot when he followed Phil into the home swim. Phil's common and Eddie's mirror were the two biggest carp caught at Oakview in 2015.
June - Best Month for Carp Runs
June was the best month for runs with a total of 82 carp landed. The month's tally included 5 x 40s, 39 x 30s and 34 x 20s. The numbers were helped by Oakview legend Bob Carey and his bro Ray Green, who smashed it during their week in June. Together they added 2 x 40s, 19 x 30s and 14 x 20s to the month's total.
July - Pete Lang's Rare Blue Moon Session
The month of July 2015 saw a rare celestial event called ' a blue moon'. It also produced a rare fishing session for Pete Lang, who banked 3 new personal best fish during the event. A 38lb 4oz mirror was followed by two more weighing 42lb and 43lb 12oz. Pete finished his blue-moon session with 2 x 40s, 6 x 30s and 2 x 20s - a whopping average carp weight of 35lb. Pete recently informed us that there are more strange moon events due in 2018. Watch this space!
August - 40lb Carp for all the Family
August is a favourite time for families at Oakview Lake. This year's highlights were provided by the Burgess family, who banked 4 x 40s, including one each for Dad Trevor, Mum Maggie and two 44s for their son Anthony. Ben Albertina also provided a special highlight when he banked a junior lake record mirror at 40lb.
September - The Best Moth Overall
September was the best moth for combining weather, big carp and plenty of runs. 77 carp were banked during the month, including 8 x 40s, 43 x 30s and 23 x 20s. The month's highlight came from Paul Shaw and his partner Jenny Meider. Paul knows the lake better than most, having fished here every year since it opened 7 years ago. He's also well known to Oakview anglers, having contributed to several of our videos over the years. This trip saw them both go home with new PBs of 42lb for Paul and 39lb 14oz for Jenny.
October - More 40s and PBs for Oakview Regulars
The month of October had its own special highlight on the evening of the 7th. Vic and Kevin Priest both banked their first ever 40lb carp within an hour of each other. Vic taught his son Kevin to fish when he was knee-high, so it was a pretty special memory for them both. As usual during their Oakview trips, Vic's 40 was bigger than Kevin's!
Last 40lb Carp of 2015
On 20th October another Oakview regular Darren Palmer banked a 42lb 4oz mirror, the 33rd and last 40 pound carp landed at Oakview Lake in 2015. Darren caught his first Oakview 40 back in 2012 with a 40lb 8oz mirror. He smashed that PB with his latest Oakview 40.
To conclude, the best time to catch the biggest carp was in April and May. The best months to catch lots of carp were June and September and the best months for family fishing holidays were July and August. We've no idea what the weather and the carp fishing will be like next year. One thing we do know is that there are now lots of big carp in Oakview Lake and they won't waste their energy looking for bait unless the rewards are there, hopefully for you and the carp.