I stood poised over the rod then as the line pulled out of the clip, I lifted the rod to find myself into another carp, but this one felt a bit bigger. It was slower, more plodding, and stripping line as it went on a solid run. As I looked around for the net, I realized my dilemma. I had the handle at my feet, but the mesh was by the mat...

The fish took a bit of line on solid runs that I wasn’t going to even try and stop, even if I could. I gained a bit of ground before it took off again. As the fight drew nearer to the bank, I lowered my other two rods to get them out of the way and after one final burst I slid the net under the fish before taking a look inside.