17 Thirties and One Forty in Two December Carp Fishing Trips | Max Braby
Winter is often a time when anglers lower their expectations, but that certainly wasn’t the case for OMC’s young carp fishing wizard, Max Braby. Across just two December sessions, using the OMC Bait Range, Max managed a haul that most anglers won’t achieve in a lifetime — 17 carp over 30lb and one incredible 40lber.
Here’s how the sessions unfolded...
First Session – 48 Hours, 26 Carp, 8 Thirties
Session stats:
• 26 carp in 48 hours
• 8 carp over 30lb
All of the carp this session were caught on Lock Hook Spinner Rigs, baited with Yellow, White, or Red Paella & iScream Pop-ups.
"Fish don't come off on the Lock Hooks"
"The carp in my syndicate love the Paella"
I arrived on Tuesday afternoon just before dark to a relatively quiet lake. After doing a couple of laps into darkness without seeing or hearing any signs of carp, I made an educated guess on where they might be holding up. I set up there but stayed ready to move in the dark if fish showed elsewhere.
Only a couple of hours into darkness, I had already landed three carp — a 36lb 4oz mirror, a 33lb scaly, and a 30lb 2oz common.
"This cracking scale-perfect mirror went 33lb"
"30lb of golden common carp"
The bites continued right through the early hours, with another 33lb mirror and multiple upper-20s all finding their way into the Black Pearl Landing Net.
"This 33lb mirror was a right brute"
Daytime action was much slower, producing just one 32lb common, but as soon as darkness returned, so did the carp. A couple of small scaly mirrors around 25lb came first, followed by a recapture of a 30lb mirror I’d caught only a few weeks earlier.
A first-light bite on the final morning produced a lovely 31lb 12oz common. Unlike the previous day, the daylight hours then went crazy — I could hardly keep the rods in the water. The standout fish was a stunning 34lb mirror, rounding off an unbelievable first session.
"What a lovely common this one was at 31lb 12oz"
"This 34lb mirror rounded off an unbelievable session!"
Second Session – 72 Hours, 9 Thirties and a December 40
Session stats:
• 9 carp over 30lb
• Including 8 thirties and one 40lber
I arrived on Monday afternoon to a very busy lake, leaving me with limited swim choices. I saw a couple of fish show in an area already occupied by other anglers, so I dropped into a nearby swim with a plan to move once a space opened up.
I deployed three Lock Hook Spinner Rigs, baited with Yellow and White Paella Pop-ups, onto known spots with a spread of boilie, pellets, and hemp over the top.
"Lock Hook Spinner Rigs are my favourites for pop-ups"
"Boilies, hemp and pellets - my favourite autumn and winter mix"
"A helping of Paella Gravy - transforms any mix!"
Just into darkness, my middle rod ripped off, resulting in a very angry 31lb 8oz simmo — a welcome surprise while waiting to move closer to the main group of fish.
"This was one angry carp!"
The following afternoon, I managed to move into the swim where I’d seen the activity and felt full of confidence. Once again, just after dark, my left-hand rod was away, producing a lovely 31lb 4oz mirror. A couple of hours later, the same rod went again, this time with another 31lb 4oz, but a common. An upper-20 mirror followed, braced with a scraper 30, and that was the end of the night’s action.
"The final bite of another crazy winter night carping"
Just as dawn was breaking, the left-hand rod was away again — and I instantly knew it was a good one. The fight was slow and dogged at range before the fish kited hard to the right and found an unknown underwater snag. After some patience and steady pressure from a different angle, the fish moved again.
When it finally came closer, I could see it was a huge mirror and absolutely nailed. Into the net it went — a massive December 40lber. What a result.
"This stunning carp made my year and it came in December of all times!"
While photographing the 40, another rod was away. I slipped the big fish back and picked up the rod, resulting in another 30lber.
"This 30lber came right after returning the 40!"
The rest of the day was quiet until around 20 minutes after dark, when I heard a show in the corner to my right. I quickly dropped a rod into the area and was rewarded with yet another 31lb 4oz carp. Through the night, I caught several smaller mirrors around 26lb, plus a recapture of another 30lb mirror, which I returned without bringing it onto the bank.
"The night bites started again with this 31lb 4oz stunner"
The final bite of the session came just after sunrise — a cracking 34lb common, perfectly rounding off the trip.
A December to Remember
Across just two December sessions, the final tally stood at:
17 carp over 30lb
1 December 40lber
A truly mega winter result and a trip — or two — to remember. Lock Hooks and OMC Bait proving to be winners for me once again.
Article author Max Braby is one of the youngest members of the OMC Team, but don't let his age fool you - he's already an expert at catching big carp on a variety of methods. Max enjoys sharing his adventures with articles and high-quality photography.
