Big Carp of Africa

“Pressure was now heaping on Dylan who had not had a fish for five days but We knew it was only a matter of time...” Every carp angler dreams of that session when you break all boundaries and catch not one but a number of PB’s in one go. My friends Dylan Richter, Emile Barnard and myself had found out about a magical place where anglers have been flocking recently to do just that. We wanted to experience the ultimate “Big Carp of Africa” and boy, did we have the session of a lifetime! After months of planning and prepping our day finally arrived. After loading the last bits and pieces into our vehicle and double-checking every tie-down for the boats, we got on the road. After a long 5-hour drive we finally arrived just before sunset. Beep! Another bite while holding the first double-up of the trip. Cold weather brought the fish into our swim. Here we had another double-up. The author with his new PB of 21,9kg. What an amazing wild fish. We knew that this majestic piece of water before us had monster carp swimming around, but the question on our minds was, would we be able to catch one of them? Never the less we were hopeful and determined to make the most of our time, as we needed only one monster that week. With us arriving late we quickly made friends with our neighbours who were very accommodating, letting us braai with them and even shared a few tips with us. Morning came and we were up and ready to get onto water for feature finding. It was going to be a very important feature finding session as we were advised to leave our lines in once we find our spots. We had to be absolutely positively confident in every rod and every trap that we set. With all our lines in the waiting game began, but little did we know that we wouldn’t have to wait too long for our first visitor to show up. At 04:30 a single beep echoed through the camp and I was up immediately. As I approached the rod my alarm suddenly screamed off and I was fighting my first fish of the trip. That first carp weighed in at 17,6kg and we were all over the moon! From here on it could only get better. After a full day and a half of waiting patiently and starting to question our other drops and locations, another rod suddenly took off with force bending the rod tip down. Dylan with his first fish of the trip - a 16,6kg Common. This time it was Emile’s turn as he fought his first monster. After a short fight the fish slipped into the net and we could see it was yet another giant common. It was a new PB for Emile and the same weight as our first fish, another 17,6kg of spotless wild carp! Excitement and joy filled the camp as we celebrated with a massive bonfire well into the evening in true South African fashion. For the next two days we waited and waited and waited some more. As more and more time passed, the mood turned from pure ecstasy to doubt and uncertainty. We started questioning everything - our fishing abilities, our baits of choice, our locations, should we move? Should we stay? Were we doing something wrong? Dylan with his stunning 17,2kg common. Then out of nowhere my middle rod pulled away and I was on with a fish. With not much of a fight and no real sign of a carp we thought it might be a barbel, but as it got closer we soon realised that this was a very special carp! It was one of the monster carp which we came to catch. The three of us stood in the water and watched with anticipation as this giant fish rolled into the net. It was not only a new PB of 21,9kg for me, but also the biggest carp that any of us had ever seen and we appreciated every moment with tons of photos and videos. Emile with his 17,6kg common. Pressure was now heaping on Dylan who had not had a fish for five days. We knew it was only a matter of time. As we settled in for that evening hopeful for the new day to bring some more fish our way, Dylan dashed out of the tent running down the bank to his rod to claim his first fish. After a near 50-minute fight Dylan managed to land a stunning carp of 16,6kg breaking his previous PB by 400g. Even though Dylan was excited and grateful for the new PB that took him 4 years to break, the man was eager for more. Our swim - what a beautiful and tranquil place. Undisturbed and peaceful African waters where giants reside. After 5 days without a bite for Dylan that fish brought back his confidence and his mood was up! The weather on the other hand had other ideas. The wind started pumping and pulled in the clouds which eventually brought the rain which continued to pour down the whole night and into the next day. 21,9kg Common, this is the fish of a lifetime and one I will never forget! My new PB is an absolute brute! Conditions had changed dramatically that night and we were hoping that the carp would switch on. With heavy mist over the lake and a light drizzle falling complete mayhem unfolded! One of my rods which had laid dormant for 6 days suddenly ripped off and seconds later Dylan was also on with a fish. We quickly reset our lines and not even two hours later both our rods where off again. We could not believe what was happening. Two fish just below 40lbs and two fish mid-30lbs were on the board and by now Dylan had four fish on the bank. Misty mornings breaking the crack of dawn. Note the rods in the distance and cradle and scale waiting in the foreground. Then a special moment came for Dylan, which was to be our last fish for the trip and the third time that he would break his PB on this trip. He had managed to catch a 20,4kg wild African Carp and you could see the satisfaction on his face! A real colgate smile and the perfect ending to our trip. We managed to land 10 carp that week between 13,7kg and 21,9kg breaking 5 PB’s between us. This week-long adventure had not only taught us a lot about fishing for these monsters, but brought us closer as friends and really made us proud of what we achieved in a sport we love so much! 3 Friends and a 20,4kg wild common carp - this is what dreams are made of! From left to right: Marc Williams, Dylan Richter and Emile Barnard.