Well done thats a great catch. I have to ask...is this from the water with the recent Carp stocking ?
....just out of interest ...nothing malicious intended..
Yes it was Philip, although it was very much against the grain of things in the wider picture.
On a previous occasion I had my float repeatedly all but engulfed by hungry Carp looking for surface food, on another I caught a Carp first put in and immediately after returning it I packed up and went home.
The fish are also that used to being supplementary fed that they're not even moving off when they pick up baits which in turn has resulted in some gut hooking, this is on reasonably sensitive float rigs and on which I've never seen that happen in my life before.
I think the only reason that I didn't encounter Carp on this occasion was that it was so hot they were all on the top and a good few feet away from my bait down near the deck.
Quite what this means for other species and the balance of the fishery in general I don't know but I would say that it doesn't look good for anything other than Carp... It's not your typical commercial which sees a reasonable number of anglers and feed throughout the year.
I keep saying I'm done with the water but I keep on going back, maybe on the strength of brief periods such as the other evening but it's a shadow of its former self in respect of anything other than Carp.