Andy Bennett lands the “Top 6” BDAC carp in a season!

Belper's Andy Bennett lands the 6 biggest carp in Wyver Lane Pond, in under 5 months!

Andy banks the six largest largest known carp in Wyver Lane Pond – including 3 x 20s!

Our Carp & Night Fishing Officer, Andy Bennett, has been busy either side of the COVID lockdown – putting together an impressive run of fish which includes all six of our largest carp, including our two new “stockies”.

This is not only a tremendous personal achievement for Andy, it also proves our four largest carp remained in the pond during the autumn & winter floods and don’t now reside in the Derwent! Great news for the Club and our members.

Here’s how Andy’s run of specimen carp unfolded…

Between March and July Andy landed Moonscale twice, with a largest weight of exactly 20lb.

Moonscale - Big carp from Belper - carp fishing
Moonscale - Andy Bennett with a specimen Wyver Lane Pond mirror carp

Before March was out, a mirror carp called Half Lin was tripped up by Andy, at 20lb 7oz.

Half Lin - Belper pond specimen carp angling

After the national lockdown put an end to all our fishing for a while, Andy hit the ground running with a 6-fish catch that included Half Tail at 16lb 13oz.

Half Tail - Belper pond specimen carp angling

Next up was the large common we stocked this year – Chester – which Andy caught twice, up to 21lb 9oz, which is 11oz heavier than the weight she was stocked at!

Andy Bennett with Chester - a specimen Wyver Lane Pond common carp, Belper
Andy Bennett with a 20lb Wyver Lane Pond common carp - Chester - at Belper

In mid-June it was the turn of our second newly-stocked fish – the beefy mirror, Shoulders, at 18lb 15oz.

Andy Bennett with Shoulders - a 19lb Wyver Lane Pond carp, Belper
Andy Bennett with Shoulders - a specimen Wyver Lane Pond mirror carp, Belper

The final fish that completed Andy’s impressive full-house was a mirror known as Linda, which he banked at 19lb 10oz.

Andy Bennett with a specimen Wyver Lane Pond carp, Belper
Andy Bennett with a Linda - big carp from Wyver Lane Pond, Belper - carp fishing

Well done that man!

Check out some of our other members’ carp catches in our Carp Gallery.

Wyver Lane Pond receives specimen carp stocking boost

Specimen mirror & common carp stocking Wyver Lane Pond Belper

The Club has fantastic news to share, on behalf of our Night Members, who oversee the carp angling at our Wyver Lane Pond.

In the words of our Carp & Night Fishing Officer, Andy Bennett:

“Well here they are, after 3 years of planning our new fish are finally in their new home, the beautiful mirror at 19lb 6oz and a fantastic common at 20lb 14oz have reached their destination! These are fish some of the night members have been saving up to buy after otters took at least 12 of our beloved fish, then we had a tragic flood last November which could have taken a lot of our carp. With a bit of help from the Club we have achieved something great between us! Thank you to those who donated to our cause.”

Here are some shots taken during the stocking:

Specimen 20lb common carp stocked into Wyver Lane Pond, Belper, March 2020
20lb+ common carp – known as “Chester” – stocked into Wyver Lane Pond, March 2020
Specimen 19lb mirror carp stocked into Wyver Lane Pond, Belper, March 2020
A beautiful, large-shouldered mirror carp – fittingly named “Shoulders” – about to be introduced into our pond at Belper
Specimen 20lb common & mirror carp stocked into Wyver Lane Pond, Belper, March 2020
The pair of specimen carp now swimming in Wyver Lane Pond

We’re sure you’ll agree, these carp – supplied by Frontfish UK – are lovely looking fish with great potential for growth. Hopefully these fish will be a prized target for Belper carpers for years to come.

Take a look at some of our other known carp in our Carp Gallery.