17.05.2018

Record carp for Gründer

Tostedt. Radical and Black Cat team angler Benjamin Gründer has specialized in fishing for carp for more than 20 years. During this time, he has claimed some impressive catches throughout Europe. Landing an exceptional specimen of more than 25 kg was what drove him on his travels for many years. However, as catfish angling took up more and more of his time, his passion for carp become somewhat neglected. On a recent carp fishing trip to a club lake in Bavaria, though, Benjamin and his fishing partner Michael Freund enjoyed a veritable carp-fest.
 
A euphoric Benjamin Gründer reports: “Michael had invited me to his club lake some time ago and I finally found the time at the beginning of May. Michael fished two days before I arrived and caught two super specimens weighing 10 kg and 23.5 kg. The weather forecast predicted rain and wind for the following days. Since I had previously fished numerous waters of a similar structure, I knew what my tactics would be. Relatively shallow lakes with plain bottom structures are ideal for attracting fish to your feed. So, we put out our marker poles and created a feeding ground on the lake of approx. 50 meters in length and five meters in width. The feed included large quantities of cooked sweetcorn,  with tiger nuts and Radical Bait Bloody Chicken boilies in 16 mm and 20 mm versions.
The weather forecast proved accurate and the low pressure area that had warmed the lake for several weeks to around 20 degrees was replaced with storm clouds that rumbled with thunder and unleashed torrential rain. Now, everything was playing into our hands and the last night of the trip was something I will remember for the rest of my life. In the afternoon, we added grass carp of 21.3 kg (47 lb) and 16 kg (35 lb 5 oz) to our haul and the night brought another weighing 19.3 kg (42 lb 9 oz).
 
I distributed the last reserves of feed when checking the rigs, which I kept typically simple: a 20 mm Radical Bait Bloody Chicken boilie with a small pop-up as a bottom bait. A 140 g inline weight and a 15 cm short Radical Basilisk Combi Link leader with a size 6 Radical Curve Shank Elite carp hook – this rig has had my absolute trust for years!
In the early hours of the morning, the heavy rain subsided a little and we had run after run. A mirror carp of 12.4 kg (27 lb 6 oz) kicked things off, followed 10 minutes later by a 17.5 kg (38 lb 10 oz) mirror. While photographing the fish, there was a run on one of my two Old School rods, As soon as I picked up the rod, I knew there was a big fish on the other end and we followed the fleeing giant with the boat. We were quickly above the fish, which I could recognize in around three meters of water. There he was! So many carp trips, so many fish landed, so many fruitless hours – and now he was no more than five meters from the boat. I was as nervous as I was when I landed my first big carp from the Lac d‘Orient in France almost 20 years ago.
The fight seemed to go on forever. However, after around 20 minutes, I slid the fish into the landing net and a huge weight lifted from my shoulders.
The digital scales read ‘Error’ and Micha and I knew the fish must have been significantly above 25 kg. So we weighed the carp with my catfish scales, which showed 27.5 kg (60lb 11 oz). My new record carp. My knees were still trembling after we had released fish back into the water.
The rain began to fall again and, right on cue, my last rod took off. The fight in the rain was crazy and the fish fought even harder than the 55-pounder. After almost an eternity, a 105 cm common carp weighing 22.5 kg (49 lb 10 oz) lay in my landing net. Micha and I hugged each other with joy. In the knowledge that, with the right feeding, the right tactics and the right timing, we had enjoyed a magic moment.