DANNY TAYLOR celebrated the impending birth of his son by grabbing a few hours fishing and took this stunning 42 lb 6 oz common on simple float tactics.
The 39-year-old from Hampshire keeps things very simple. He doesn’t even use a shop-bought float with his float fishing tactics.
And it really works well … his last two carp caught last year on the same tactics were a 45 lb 4 oz mirror and 39 lb common.
Danny, who has caught perch to 4 lb 3 oz, explained: “I keep things simple and just use float fished corn, a barbel rod and centrepin reel.
“The float is actually a feather pushed into a tail rubber to make it even more inconspicuous.
“It’s perfect for stalking big wary carp.
“I target them in the edge whilst others use a boilie approach and are less selective on what they catch.
“My last three carp are all known fish from the lake’s ‘A-Team’.
Danny’s simple float fishing tactics involve a quill, with a tail rubber fixing it to the line.
“I use a 12ft 1.5 lb test curve Wychwood barbel rod with 12 lb line.
“And the bait was three bits of corn directly on a size 8 hook and a single BB shot 6 inches away.
“I baited various edge spots with a few grains of corn, and a sloppy mix of Bait-Tech Halibut Marine groundbait and once the fish moved in.
“It was then just a matter of selecting the biggest one of the group.
“I was literally pulling the bait out of the mouths of other 30 lb-plus carp because I wanted to only catch the big common.
“If I was boilie/bolt rig fishing, I have no doubt one of the smaller ones would have picked up the bait so that’s the reason I opted to use the approach that I did.
“My partner Michelle went in to labour the following day and then gave birth to our son Quinn Anthony Taylor at exactly 7 lb.
“It was a great couple of days all round,” concluded Danny.
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