Dipper and Dopper catch a whopper

[Coral Maestro]

This is a 31lb mirror carp that I was fortunate to catch in France. The rod (Rodrill Dipper) and reel (Dopper) both coped admirably. Interestingly, the carp passed the remains of a fish while it was on the unhooking mat which goes some way towards explaining why it was the biggest fish in the lake.

[Dave Burr]

A lovely fish on a cane rod CM. Dipper and Dopper catch a whopper sounds like a great children's book.

Carp eat fish when the opportunities present themselves. I used to fish a pool that had just carp, a few bream and sticklebacks in it. The margins were always full of fry and sticklebacks yet no small carp were ever caught by anglers. Bream too are not shy about chomping through the tiddlers.

[Coral Maestro]

A lovely fish on a cane rod CM. Dipper and Dopper catch a whopper sounds like a great children's book.

Carp eat fish when the opportunities present themselves. I used to fish a pool that had just carp, a few bream and sticklebacks in it. The margins were always full of fry and sticklebacks yet no small carp were ever caught by anglers. Bream too are not shy about chomping through the tiddlers.

I had another encounter with a carp on a fish bait. This time I was fishing Nicholls Leisure near Hythe for eels using roach deadbaits. I had a take at 4am and it was soon obvious that what I'd hooked was no eel! It turned out to be a mirror carp of 11lbs odd hooked fairly in the mouth.
Chub are another species that enjoy a fish bait and I remember catching plenty from the upper Medway when using live minnows for perch. Shame we didn't catch as many perch!

[Liphook]

That's a big old carp to test your cane! Particularly with only half your reel fittings? I think all fish are capable of opportunistic feeding on other fish, fry etc. I've caught several big roach fairly and squarely on trollled rapalas in Windermere.

[Coral Maestro]

That's a big old carp to test your cane! Particularly with only half your reel fittings? I think all fish are capable of opportunistic feeding on other fish, fry etc. I've caught several big roach fairly and squarely on trollled rapalas in Windermere.

The lower winch fitting worked itself free during the fight and slid down the handle hence the mystery of the disappearing reel fitting!
The carp in this lake seem to be opportunist feeders as I've seen them enthusiastically eating tadpoles in the margins and also eating each others spawn on the same day that they've spawned.
The catching of roach on Rapalas is a new one on me. What size were the lures?

[Liphook]

Count Down 9cm in rainbow trout and char colours have both proved attractive. On occasion the roach would have fry in their throats along with the treble hook!