Bailiff Comments

Week Commencing: Sat 15/02/2020

Another fine winter week dawned at Gigantica with six expectant and hopeful anglers coming to try their luck for a superbeast. The weather has been unseasonably mild of late, with mainly southerly/south westerly winds and temperatures well above freezing. 

Sam O’Brien fancied having a crack at The Alamo, a swim which has produced two eighties already this year! Weigh big headwinds forecast to be blowing at him during the week, Sam very sensibly reduced the range he fished at, to ensure that he could fish effectively all week. Two rods went out at 20 wraps just to the right of Alcatraz and the other one was at 16 wraps towards the anglers’ clubhouse. Bait for the week was Sticky Manilla boilies with sweetcorn and he fished solid bags of pellet over the top. Twenty Spombs over each spot got the ball rolling; he picked up a couple of smaller fish before things kicked off on Tuesday with a couple of twenties and a 34lb Common known as “Parker. After rebaiting and recasting, it went up another gear the next day when Sam landed “Josie” at 31lb, “Long Spot” at 35lb and a big old 51lb 4oz Common called “The Football” at its’ first time over fifty.

We always say at Gigantica that it is never over till it’s over, some anglers don’t make the same effort on a Friday. Not Sam; he rebaited as usual and at last knockings on Saturday morning got a bite from an altogether different beast. A seemingly immovable object hugged the bottom and didn’t fancy paying a visit to the bank. Eventually Sam got the upper hand and slipped the net under a massive Mirror. On the scales, the needle went around to a whopping 74lb 12oz and was a new PB. What an amazing end to the week; top angling Sam.

Lewis Hannaford got into the swim that everyone wants at the moment; namely, Co’s Point. The swim has produced a ridiculous amount of fish this year, but the tactics have to be right to get the best from it. Lewis was also using Sticky Manilla mixed with Sweetcorn and started off with 30 Spombs out to the productive 28 wrap spot. All three rods were baited with yellow dumb-bells on simple Combi-Rigs and running leads clips. 

The baiting strategy has to be worked on through the week, but it has become apparent that the nights in Co’s are very quiet. Getting up before first light, introducing some bait sounds the dinner bell and the fish won’t be far behind. That is exactly what Sam did and he caught a spectacular haul of 43 fish during the week. Multiple takes and bites on the drop were experienced as the fish homed in on the bait. On Monday he landed his biggest fish of the week, which turned out to be a new fifty for the lake, when “Mammut” pushed the needle to 54lb 4oz. What an incredible result Sam. Top, top angling mate.

Freddy Knight was back again for another go and fancied a crack at Big Southerly with the Southerly winds pushing over that way. It was a fair bet that there would be a few fish mooching around the area, so he decided that he would fish one rod on the small hump at 25 wraps to the left of Alcatraz and two rods between the marker poles at 14 wraps. Bait for the week was Proper Carp Baits Sub Zero boilie mixed with sweetcorn. Freddy baited with a kilo of corn and boilie on both spots every day to try and spark a feeding frenzy from the carp. In the early hours of Monday morning he had a fast take from the 14 wrap spot and in fairly short order, landed himself a cracking 36lb Mirror known as “Chester”. The fish fell for a 14mm Proper Baits Pineapple Pop-Up on a Spinner Rig with a Heli-Safe lead set-up. He had another chance on Thursday, but unfortunately disaster struck and he suffered a hook-pull.

That was the last of the action for Freddie, but the man is a living legend. He kept everyone entertained during the week with his guitar and brilliant repertoire of songs. We’re fairly sure that the carp loved the tunes, and a Superbeast will come your way next time. 

With such a fantastic group of boys, the week absolutely flew by and all too soon it was Saturday morning. We would just like to say a big thank you for a brilliant week. Until next time

Bonne Peche and Tight Lines

Andy

Team Gigantica