The Great Italian Jol

South African anglers always regard themselves as less fortunate than their European counterparts simply because of the amazing fish sizes and incredible lush green overgrown lakes found in Europe. In 2017 while on tour in France filming with Frank Warwick, I heard about a magical place in Italy that held large numbers of absolutely giant carp. Frank had told the story of a double-up he had one morning with two 70 pounders. His story fired my imagination of a whole new world of Carp fishing outside of South Africa. There are indeed giants out there, and we can actually go fish for them if we really want to! Our Italian Jol Tour was born out of a desire to make the carp dreams of some of our local anglers come true. We were 11 anglers from all over South Africa, who set out early October to go and conquer some big Italian carp. The group arrived in Venice with great anticipation for what would be the best week of fishing in every one of the angler’s lives. After a short 45-minute drive from the airport we arrived at the famous Parco del Brenta gates. The Italian Jol Group Like typical anglers all of us quickly walked to the water's edge to greet this magnificent piece of water and take a quick peek into its clear blue water. That's when the excitement really hit home. We were joined by 3 of our European friends, Toby and Dave from England, and Marco Tetteroo from Nash in Holland who just recently visited South Africa. We did not want to waste any more time and quickly did a peg draw to see where each angler would be fishing from. The deal we made amongst ourselves was that should one of us struggle to catch during the week, anyone could move into any open swim closer to where the fish were being caught. That way we could all have an equal chance of catching something amazing on this once in a lifetime adventure. The typical Parco swim, a carp angler's dream! The lake used to be an old quarry and is about the size of Donaldson bottom lake with 22 swims scattered evenly around it. There were a few favourite areas, one of which was swim 1 on the point which was almost a type of peninsular running into the lake. Then there was Swim 7 (a double swim) right at the deepest end of the lake which was also quite favourable. The other favoured hot spots were in the smaller bay area around swim 17 and 18. Everyone quickly got set up in their swims and by nightfall we were fishing. As we tucked into our beds that night the feeling of complete bliss coupled with excitement and anticipation filled our hearts. Around 9pm that first night Sean had the first action as he struck into a big fish which gave a very strange fight. He soon landed a creature that looked like a horror movie character, a Blue Catfish. Luckily it wasn't long after releasing it that Sean managed to bag the first Mirror for the trip. I woke up to a screaming run in the middle of the night and managed my first Italian carp as well. Both those first fish were around 12kg - only a drop of what was to come the next day. Sean Tucker with the “starburst mirror” he caught. FIRST MORNING We were greeted on the first morning with the sun rising over the Italian Alps and a blue lake surrounded by overhanging trees in their autumn colours. Then a fresh delivery of scrambled eggs and Italian bacon for breakfast by Mauro on his scooter. Jaco in Peg 7 opened his account that morning with a very nice 42 pounder and by noon it was Arno’s turn on peg 18 who managed to land a big Mirror around the 40lb mark from right under the tree close in. That afternoon as the sun belted down on us Jaco had a huge Common and Mirror on peg 7 and Toby on peg 20 managed a new PB of 26,9kg. Big common for Jaco Coetzee. The action had kicked off properly. Ivan was next with a 23kg Common and things were looking fantastic for the first day. I was lucky to get a stunning Leather in my net at around 5pm and then came the phone call from Ivan on peg 7. The words “Ek het n monster!” on the other end of the line made me race around to his peg only to find Jaco fighting a fish with the sun setting in front of him while Ivan held the net and a retainer sling in the water. Jaco landed his fish safely and then it was time to reveal Ivan’s prize. His monster Common pulled the scales right around, stopping at 74lb! Which was 33,5kg! We could not believe what we were looking at. Ivan wrestled to hold his huge Common for a few pics in the sunset and a well-deserved water bucket for breaking his PB! As the big Common swam off a message came through on the WhatsApp group.”Arno is aan!” I raced to the other side of the lake where Arno and Ruan were fishing and made it just in time to witness yet another giant carp. He had landed a chunky 27kg Common from the same spot under the tree close in. This was a new PB for him and a water bucket was in order to celebrate this achievement. Early that evening Jaco managed to get yet another big Common and it dawned on me that this was only Monday and that we still had 6 days of fishing ahead of us. The action was far from over! Ivan Jooste with his 21.9kg mirror. Barry Booyens with his PB of 24.9kg. At midnight Bennie on peg 1 managed his first Italian Mirror and just as I tucked in for the night, I heard Barry, who was 2 swims down from me on peg 14, give a little victory shout. This was because he knew he had just landed his new PB. We weighed his long Common and it pulled the scales to 25,9kg. An absolute brute of a fish. Arno Potgieter with a 27kg common. The author with his 24kg common. DAY TWO Day 2 arrived and the spirits were at an all-time high for everyone. No one had anticipated that the fishing would be this good so soon. Even the guys who hadn’t caught knew that we were all in for the time of our lives. Bennie Smith with the first Sturgeon of the trip - what a creature! Jaco was first off the mark again that morning with a massive Mirror of 60lb. Swim 7 was turning out to be a paradise for the bigger fish and both Jaco and Ivan were making sure they kept them fed. Later that morning swim 1 on the point started to switch on. Johan Kemp from Jurassic managed to catch a stunning 61lb Common which would mark the start of a very productive session for them. At mid-day as the heat turned up Jaco on peg 7 had yet another big fish, his second 30kg fish of the trip, namely a 30,5kg Italian Mirror. As Jaco was taking pictures of his incredible prize Toby, down in peg 20 on the other side of the lake, had a slow take on his far rod which was placed on top of an old road going through the lake. The fish boxed him for a good hour but by 2pm it was in the net. Toby had landed not only another PB but also the third 30kg carp of the tour. Johan Kemp's first 60lb mirror carp. Toby Parkinson and his 30,8kg PB Common. This 30,8kg Common was an incredible looking fish with huge shoulders and almost no stomach. It’s one eye also looked like it was popping out which made it such a unique character fish to catch. The second day was turning out to be even more productive than the first. Both Bennie and Sean managed to catch stunning Mirrors later that afternoon and at 4pm Riaan Opperman also had his first Italian Mirror of 45lbs. Soon after Riaan’s fish Jaco had a double take and landed 2 stunning Mirrors of 20kg and 25kg. Myself and Barry also had some action as the sun started to set, and then just as the light was fading swim 1 kicked into gear with two 50 pounders back to back by Johan and Bennie. The few spots they had pre-baited the previous day had suddenly started producing the goods. That night the guys on the point never went to bed as they were catching one fish after another. DAY THREE Just before sunrise I got a call from Riaan on peg 1. His voice sounded nervous as he explained to me that he had just caught an absolute monster which could go 80lbs. I was immediately out of my sleeping bag and on my way to their peg (which was right on the opposite side of the lake) to witness this incredible catch. By the time I reached the guys the sun had just started to rise and we had a quick coffee while we waited for Marco to come help with the weighing and photos. Riaan explained to me how he simply flicked out a single hookbait towards an overhanging branch less than 10 meters from the bank and how he fought for over an hour before getting it in the net. The fish pulled the scales right around and rested at 76lb which was a massive 34,5kg - an absolute beast! After weighing the fish, we quickly got it into the water and took some stunning water shots of Riaan working hard to lift the beast out of the water. It was a moment that I will never forget! After a few more fish that day, including 2 more incredible looking Mirrors by Arno on peg 18 and Jaco on peg 7 it was time for the group to sit down around a table and enjoy a proper Italian barbeque together that was set to start at 6pm. Just as everyone was bringing their rods in the joyful cheers of Toby and Marco on peg 20 could be heard all across the lake. Toby had once again smashed a giant 30,4kg Mirror just as the sun set. This was his second 30 kilo fish for the session. After a few photos the fish was released and it was time for the group to relax and reflect on what an unbelievable 3 days it had been up till then. Our hosts really treated us to a feast as the guys enjoyed themselves to a good “kuier” into the night. Even though all our expectations were blown out of the water, we could not imagine a better session. But little did we know that there were even bigger fish to come in the next 3 days. Sean Tucker with his 20,8kg PB. DAY FOUR In the first 3 days of our Italian adventure the South African group had smashed all their expectations and managed to not only catch numbers of 20kg-plus fish, but also 5 fish over the 30kg mark. None of us really understood the possibilities that laid before us when we embarked on this journey. We had 3 days of fishing left and wanted to make the most of it. The dam was quiet that morning mostly because of the guys resting after the feast at the lodge and a long night’s kuier. Around noon the lake suddenly started waking up again. Noble, who decided to move swims after not having much success, had a fish on in his new swim and it felt like a big one. He played the fish very gently for some 90 minutes until it finally landed in the net. The fish was a monster Mirror of 26kg and had been barely hooked on a small piece of skin on its bottom lip. If Noble had put any pressure on the fish out of impatience that fish would have been lost. This was a new PB for him and after a good bucket shower it was time to release the fish. This was not the only PB for Noble as he also managed to catch a brand new Common PB only moments after returning his Mirror. About an hour later Sean was on again and this time he landed a really special Mirror with starburst scales all over its tail. As the sun set behind the tree line Ivan on swim 7 managed to land yet another big common. This time the fish pulled the scales to 28kg. There was another visitor that made its first appearance that night: Bennie on peg 1 hooked into a big fish that gave a strange fight. It surfaced quite a few times in open water and made small leaps out of the water at times. Bennie had finally landed one of the resident Sturgeon that are found all over Northern Italy. For us as South Africans this was an exciting moment as we marvelled at its shark-like tail and textured skin. That evening there were a number of good fish caught including a 20kg Mirror for Bennie and another double-up on swim 7 which resulted in a 17,7kg and 19,5kg Common for Ivan and Jaco as well as another Sturgeon in the middle of the night. The guys were all enjoying themselves catching one monster after the other. Noble Graham with his 26kg PB mirror and a well-deserved PB-shower! DAY FIVE The sun was out again in full force with a high percentage of humidity. This seemed to be ideal conditions for these Italian fish. Riaan was off the mark first with his 36-pound Mirror followed by a chunky Mirror for Toby. Then as we approached midday Sean was suddenly getting amongst the good fish. First it was a good size Leather with a strange dorsal fin. Then minutes later the moment arrived that he had been waiting for all week - it was PB time! Sean managed to catch a 20,8kg Mirror, a stunning fish with an old scar on its flank. As the afternoon sun belted down on us Johan on peg 1 was on with yet another fish. Johan was fishing with solid PVA bags casting each rod onto the exact spot with precision. This fish turned out to be a 52lb Common. During the day Arno made a decision to move and decided that he wanted to get closer to Ivan and Jaco’s swim where the big fish were being caught regularly. He moved to swim 6 and within an hour he shared a double-up with Jaco right next door. Jaco had a 21,6kg Common and Arno landed a stunning 22kg Mirror. Early that evening Barry had his 3rd big Common for the trip and then it was Sean’s turn again. He managed to land another Mirror PB of 21,8kg. Later in the early morning hours Jaco had another 20kg Mirror, Bennie had a Leather of 34 pounds and Barry also managed to get a small Sturgeon. FINAL DAY Our final fishing day arrived and it was make or break time for some of us. Myself and Ruan hadn’t caught anything over 20kg at that point and we were desperate. We decided to do a day session next to Arno on swim 5, which meant that the bay area on swim 17 and 18 had no lines in the water and was being rested. By noon that day Bennie, Johan and Riaan on the point suddenly started to get very busy almost having a take every hour. They had a double-up with 2 smaller fish then a big Sturgeon of 21,7kg followed by a 21kg Common and another 14kg Mirror. Their spots were on fire. Ruan and I returned to our rested swims later in the afternoon to find fish jumping all over and we knew that the final night was going to a special one. Ruan quickly got his rods out and I went to film yet another stunning big Mirror on Peg 1, Johan’s swim on the point. After Johan’s fish they invited me to join them on their swim for the final night to see if I could also get a last consolation prize before packing up the next morning. At one stage I glanced at the moon and noticed for the first time that it was a misty full moon and remembered 3 years ago in France when Charles Horlick caught 2 enormous Commons at Lac du Der in the same moon conditions. Charles called it the “Big Fish Moon”, so I knew something special was coming that night. Around 8pm Bennie struck into a fish. He soon realised that this was no ordinary fish as it swam all the way around the point at a slow steady pace. Bennie tried pulling the fish but said it felt like the line is stuck but yet it was clearly moving around the lake. He gently and patiently fought the fish for an hour trying his best not to make any wrong moves. As the fish approached the bank Johan walked in with the net and caught a glimpse of a shiny Common. He yelled out, “Bennie this is your PB!” As the fish went into the net, we all realised that Bennie had caught one of the really big ones. It took 2 guys to lift the fish out of the water and onto the XL unhooking mat. This monster almost did not fit onto the mat. Bennie’s fish pulled the scales around and stopped at the 34,9kg mark, a few grams heavier than Riaan’s common 2 days prior and so the biggest fish for the tour. Bennie Smith with the biggest fish of the session and his new PB, a giant carp of 34,9kg. Everyone was ecstatic as Bennie, who was the smallest guy in the group, tried to lift this enormous beast out of the water for a few pictures. What a moment that was to witness! But the action was far from over. After resetting the lines Johan followed up that fish with a huge 63lb Mirror just before midnight which sealed his Italian tour on a high note. All the while Ruan had been busy on swim 18 and managed to land a few fish that night including his new PB of a 26,4kg Mirror. Then in the early hours of the morning it was finally my turn again. Thick mist had enshrouded the lake to a point where you could not see your hand in front of you. As I lifted the rod I knew that the fish on the other end was a good one. It held fast in the depths and moved slow and deep, but after a good 40 minutes I finally had the fish in front of me and slipped its huge body into the net. This 24kg Common was my final fish for Italy on the morning as the sun rose over the Alps - I could not dream of a better ending to what was the best euro trip ever! Besides everyone breaking multiple PB’s this tour opened our eyes to the great possibilities that were out there. We could not have imagined that we as a South African group would catch almost 100 fish that week of which 6 were over the 30kg mark.