- 2 days ago
The Grand Fishing Adventure S03E02 (22 April 2025)
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CreativityTranscript
00:00This is the most epic underwater footage I've ever watched unfold in front of me.
00:05Prepare to immerse yourself into the underwater unknowns
00:09that obsess anglers across the globe.
00:11Ready?
00:12I'm fishing maniac Ali Hamidi.
00:15And we're off the underwater mark.
00:16And alongside our underwater experts.
00:19This looks amazing.
00:22And my angling buddies.
00:23Unbelievable. Feels like a very, very good fish.
00:26We'll expose underwater myths and truths.
00:30What is the answer?
00:31Want to see what baits carp fluff most?
00:34Now we're talking attraction.
00:36Experience tackle and tech in different scenarios.
00:41It's on fire.
00:42And witness the fine lines between success
00:47and failure.
00:48No, no, no.
00:50All is unearthed in the underwater grand fishing adventure.
00:54Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:55We've got ourselves a piggy underwater.
01:00This time our underwater carp research project found us at the Lake Nomads,
01:17the Lake of Dreams, a.k.a. the mighty Grenville.
01:22A mega 70-acre gravel pit in the heart of Cambridgeshire in England with 2,000 UK bred carp.
01:30It has some absolute beasts by UK standards, including an Enormadon last out at over 65 pounds,
01:38which could now easily tip the scales over the current British record of 68 pounds, one ounce.
01:45My UK PB is from this very lake.
01:48That is a carp to remember.
01:52A whopping 54 pounds, 11 ounces.
01:56Yes.
01:57Get in there.
01:58Also, Bobby Zamora's PB is from this lake too, 52 pounds, six ounces.
02:05Yes.
02:05Caught during series one.
02:07This is why we've come here, mate.
02:08Of the grand fishing adventure.
02:10To catch giant carp.
02:13And Bobby is in fact also my partner in crime for this new adventure too,
02:19where between us we shall attempt to catch the potential British record carp,
02:24all on an underwater camera.
02:26No easy target, eh?
02:29It was May, an unusually misty and cold day, but we were bang up for the challenge.
02:36I am sniffing in the air of the greatest atmosphere on British soil.
02:43Good to be back, brother.
02:44Mate, it's great to be back.
02:45I have no idea what you're talking about, but great to be back here.
02:48The water of both of our personal best.
02:51The corner behind me is exactly where you caught your PB.
02:56Out there is possibly the biggest carp in this country.
03:01It's got to be fueling you.
03:02Mate, I am so excited and there's an element of underwater as well catching that on camera.
03:09That's the icing on the cake, isn't it?
03:11No, I'll tell you what the icing on the cake is, right, before we go and get the rods out,
03:14because I'm going to wet myself if I don't get them out soon, right?
03:16Yeah.
03:18What do you make of this?
03:20Like it?
03:22O-M-G.
03:27Let's get the rods out.
03:27Please.
03:28With our previous experience of this lake and having fished here before at this very time of year,
03:35which is mid-May, we'd pre-planned exactly where to set up base camp.
03:41We knew the carp liked the shallow margins this time of year
03:45and that they loved the corner where Bobby had caught his PB two years before,
03:49which also happened to be pretty clear for filming.
03:52So two underwater live cams had been placed there the previous day with some bait and we'd
04:00already seen carp visit both spots via the cameras. Very encouraging.
04:05The underwater live cameras had been placed in position the day before by our one and only
04:10divemaster general, Lukey Boy. I was going to use a spring-loaded lead system with cell paste
04:17around the lead and a lock hook long legs pop-up rig.
04:20Bob also used the spring-loaded lead system,
04:23minus the paste with a Reedsmere-style stiff hinge rig and a higher track pop-up.
04:28Both rigs had proved successful on previous trips here.
04:32Luke carefully swam the rigs out one at a time, starting with Bob's.
04:37After placing the rig in front of the first camera, Luke then scattered some bait around it,
04:42a mix of boilies, tigers, pellet and hemp, what I call the buffet theory.
04:47Next it was on to my rig. I'd gone for some extra attraction by moulding a soluble
04:52sail paste around the lead, a method that had become a successful constant in my carp fishing.
04:58Both live cam rigs were now in position and while we let those spots settle after the diver
05:03commotion, we wanted to put two more rods out to the right of the island.
05:07A place where no man has ever fished before.
05:11The lake owner Paul was going to let us fish there in the name of research.
05:15Brand new restaurant opening up on the edge of the island.
05:18So I took Bob's rig and my own out on the boat with Luke.
05:22Oh, it's a misty big carp-y feeling morning.
05:28Both rigs were going to be placed in front of mobile spy cams. They couldn't be viewed live,
05:33they're more like carp VAR and can only be viewed after the event.
05:39Oh good? Have some bait on your head.
05:42This island area we fully loaded with several kilos of free bait, much more than the margin
05:48corner in the hope of attracting in a large group of passing carp.
05:53All four traps were now set. So to recap, a rod each on spy cams by the island, another two rods in
06:01front of live cams along the margin in the corner. We were hot to trot, just in time for the rain to start.
06:09Definitely not the most ideal weather for our live cam spots, that's for sure.
06:14This area where the live cams are, I think is going to be sunshine and bathing temperatures,
06:22which currently, you love the sound of rainfall, don't you?
06:26I do. It does send me to sleep and it's my little happy place, but not the greatest for
06:33this, these margin spots, I don't think.
06:36For the long rods, which are our spy cams, they are the ones for any type of weather.
06:43So we've got, I think we've got all bases covered. I think we've got four rods in four different depths.
06:49Beautiful, you know. We're sitting pretty.
06:53After a further 90 minutes of us sitting, well, more chilly in damp May conditions.
06:59Oh, that's a carp, drifting over. First carp, ghosting over. Hang on.
07:05On the live rod on the clay spot, 11.32.
07:10We really weren't expecting that in the live cam area, so this was great news.
07:14Oh, oh, oh. One over mine. One over mine. 11.34, one over mine.
07:19You look like he had a look as well.
07:21Oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh, Bobby, that's going to go for your rig.
07:26Oh, no, just short of it. Oh, Bob. Wow.
07:30They've obviously come in and shoot and squeeze, maybe.
07:34Wow, that was close, man. Well, it's drizzly.
07:38We weren't expecting them to come into this corner in this weather,
07:41and out of nowhere, at 11, roughly 11.32, all things changed in an instant.
07:47The wind has changed, though, and it is blowing, isn't it?
07:49It has been for the last about an hour, to be honest, 40 minutes.
07:52Oh, it's exciting, isn't it? Nice.
07:54Absolutely buzzing to be back. I know this place has giants, monsters, in fact.
07:59The only problem is I was not looking forward to sitting in front of those screens,
08:03hoping the action was straight off the bat.
08:05Well, over the following four hours, carp repeatedly drifted over Bob's spot,
08:11with just one ghosting past mine.
08:14Same scaly one. That's over my cam, over my rod.
08:18Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, scaly one. Go on, go on, go on, scaly one.
08:24Turn your head, turn your head.
08:27Oh, nice. Nice, Bob.
08:29Can't continue to visit Bob's spot and feed, and we felt closer and closer to that holy grail buying.
08:38But unfortunately, Samo was about to get summed off.
08:42You've got to go somewhere, aren't you?
08:44Yeah, I've got a little project I'm working on.
08:47It's a launch night tonight, so I will be shooting off.
08:51And blessing you with my presence tomorrow morning, I'm guessing.
08:56It's OK, I've got a lovely solution.
09:00You've heard about my magic, haven't you?
09:03Yeah.
09:03Watch this.
09:05Hello, rude dog.
09:08I was on a flight to Maldives, mate.
09:10What's going on?
09:11So the plan is, now that Mr Zamora has gone,
09:14you have stretched off and you are now in the hot seat on Bobby's rods.
09:18Oh, and you're very...
09:20Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm all right with this, yeah.
09:22I've got magic.
09:28What do you think of that?
09:30It's special.
09:32Oh, oh, there's actually a fish coming in.
09:34Oh, going straight to my hook bait.
09:35Go on.
09:36Oh, oh, right in the book.
09:39That's what you're good for.
09:41That was close.
09:42Told you, told you when he goes, they come in.
09:44I've just got a bit of luck about me.
09:46You, what?
09:47Well, them teeth, isn't it?
09:48Show them them teeth again.
09:49Carp traffic continued over the afternoon as Roo and I watched intently,
09:56hopeful of the first pick-up in front of one of the live cameras.
09:59Oh, oh, that's a decent one.
10:02That's a piggy.
10:03That's a piggy.
10:04That's a piggy over Roo Bob's rods.
10:10Pretty much all the action was on super sub spot.
10:14However, it decreased as the lights slowly started to fade.
10:19It looked as though we'd have to wait and try again when Zamora was back on the team sheet tomorrow.
10:33It was an early 5.30am start on day two of our underwater project in Cambridgeshire.
10:39Our live cam rigs went out first.
10:41I stuck with the pop-up hook baits the same as yesterday.
10:45Whereas Bob, who was now back in the saddle, had a little tinker and decided to switch to what's known as a wafter,
10:51basically a critically balanced hook bait that sits gently on the lake bed, in this case a snowman of a bottom bait boilie and a pop-up.
11:00After playback of the spy cam footage of the island rods last night, we saw no carp, but the water was super cloudy.
11:08Does that mean carp were feeding nearby on our beds of bait?
11:12So we decided to stick with the island spots, hoping the carp would come in en masse at some stage and snaffle one of our hook baits.
11:20The first live action of the day was on Bob's spot, although he'd gone AWOL.
11:26Go on. They're right on his bait. That's a decent fish.
11:35There's not a lot of bait down there and there is two carp feeding. They've smoked the bottom up.
11:41Shortly after the near miss, Bob casually joined me in the control tent.
11:47Oh, is that a smoke? Yeah, that's the left flavor smoke, mate.
11:53Look at the weather today. Already the sun's blaring out. It's going to be a warm day.
11:59And that is made for this corner.
12:03You'd think the near perfect weather conditions, plus a few carp starting to drift by his camera,
12:08would fire old Zamora right up, but no.
12:12So, Bobby, on a scale of one to ten, with you having the patience of a young child,
12:19how long before you lose your head, even though there are fish that are coming in?
12:26Is that because you've laid late night, lack of sleep,
12:29or is it because you just want to constantly catch fish, that's it?
12:34Would you be better as a trawler man?
12:36I would be better than letting this place, yeah.
12:38You always think the grass is greener elsewhere,
12:43and there's the underwater element of having to stay localised,
12:46accepting that you cannot be mobile, you can't just chase them around.
12:51It is all about the project.
12:53Does the number nine really does start to come out in you, doesn't it?
12:57You just want goals, didn't you? Yeah.
12:58You just want goals? You don't care how they come? No.
13:01I've got to admit, I do get itchy feet, and sitting in front of those screens
13:10for that amount of time and not being able to move is really hard.
13:14It's like fishing with handcuffs on.
13:16Funnily enough, I'm thinking I'll just drop one in the margin just down there and all.
13:19Oh, yeah.
13:20I was like, yeah. I might do that when you're asleep tonight.
13:24You'll wake up in the morning, there'll be five slings out.
13:26There'll be no fishing in murky water, there'll be no fishing,
13:32unless the rig's in front of a shiny underwater camera,
13:35there ain't no rigs in the water.
13:37No British records getting caught unless it's caught on them cameras.
13:41No, they have a 1,900 fish will be.
13:43What's that?
13:44They have a 1,900 fish in this lake Wilby.
13:47He's unbelievable at times, and all the live cam action was on his rods.
13:51Can you imagine if it was on mine?
13:54He literally is a little toddler.
13:56An hour later, the live cam corner started to really hot up.
14:01Hopefully, this was enough to keep Zamora, the petulant child, entertained.
14:06Oh, but three of them.
14:07I'm coming at once. Look at this.
14:09Four. Going straight for your hook, mate.
14:11No, no. One on mine.
14:13Oh, my God. This is just...
14:15Oh, this one's...
14:16This one's going for box.
14:17No, for the right of it.
14:18Oh, my God. That's... This is insane. This area is just full of carp.
14:24Don't know if I can deal with split screen.
14:27Out of nowhere, the carp appeared on screen in their masses.
14:32That is exactly what I signed up for.
14:34Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
14:37Oh, there's too much.
14:39Surely... Surely one's going to...
14:41They've got... My camera is just full of carp.
14:44It's an aquarium.
14:46This is the most epic underwater footage I've ever watched unfold in front of me.
14:51This is just beyond spectacular.
14:55Yeah.
14:56Come on. Multiple fish.
14:57They are stockpiling to this corner of the lake on the live cams.
15:01Everything we dreamt of is unfolding before us.
15:04We hoped one of our big pop-ups that historically worked so well on this lake,
15:09this time of year, would get taken.
15:11It was nervy times.
15:12Good line. Good line. Straight for the chod.
15:16Oh! Nice finstatch line.
15:18Oh, that is a belter.
15:21Yeah.
15:21Look at that.
15:23We're both thinking, surely any moment now.
15:26Absolute joke, Max.
15:29It's like a fish tank aquarium in a garden centre.
15:32After... You know, looking through the glass.
15:34At the feeding time bit, where they're expecting the food to come in.
15:38Once they move in, mate, these fish do not take long to clear you out.
15:42Then as quick as they appeared, the carp vanished from the area.
15:46It looked like a great opportunity missed.
15:49With the live cams currently void of carp and madness already setting in,
15:53we thought it was a good moment to tweak our hook bait slightly.
15:57So we were going to try some pop-ups that my daughter and wife had lovingly decorated with little faces.
16:02Luke got both rigs out in front of the live cams in super quick time.
16:07Later that afternoon, Bob and I both had inquiries.
16:11Oh, that's a big fish, mate.
16:17That's quite big.
16:18Right down.
16:19It nearly fed on you.
16:21Oh, oh, oh, oh.
16:23What is it spooking off?
16:24The happy face?
16:28No, I'm joking.
16:28It might spook off the happy face.
16:31It's got eyes and stuff.
16:33That was the closest we got to a pick-up on the not-so-happy face pop-up.
16:38Right, that's it.
16:39That's the last time my wife touches my boilies.
16:42Overnight, we viewed the spy cam footage from the island area
16:46and it showed a few carp had been feeding there yesterday.
16:49So we decided to persist there for the time being in the hope of a pick-up.
16:54Today, a new wind was forecast to start pushing from the northeast
16:58towards the far left corner opposite to base cam.
17:01This change was likely to affect our live cam corner.
17:05And so far this morning, we've not seen a single carp.
17:09I was expecting it to be like it was yesterday morning, like all day.
17:16Would be nice, wouldn't it?
17:19Those opportunities, seeing that many fish, the excitement,
17:22the same reality is not always like that, is it?
17:25Amazingly, the weather is completely different now.
17:28One day, it's now sort of almost just cold, dreary.
17:33Misty.
17:34Where are they going to go?
17:36That is the million-dollar question, isn't it?
17:39As the day progressed, the weather brightened up slightly
17:42and the wind did start to pick up as forecast,
17:45coming from behind the control tent
17:47and pushing towards the far end opposite.
17:50The island rods remained static,
17:52plus a pretty quiet day on the live cams with just the odd carp drive-by.
17:57The only plus point was Zamora stayed put,
18:00although I feared that he wouldn't last another day
18:02if there was no action at base camp.
18:04The following morning, we were met with a stronger northerly wind,
18:11still pushing away from us into the far corner.
18:14Can't often follow a new wind, especially on a big water,
18:17and early intel had confirmed just that.
18:21I found myself on tent duties, keeping an eye on the almost lifeless live cams,
18:26whilst Zamora had vacated base camp since first light.
18:30He was now in swim three, where carp had been spotted.
18:34Aided by Luke, two rods had been deployed near the margins.
18:38Bob didn't have long, though, as it was the last day of the footy season
18:42and he had to attend one of the games.
18:44So I've ended up round the other side.
18:49There's a lot of fish here in front of me now.
18:51They must have followed this wind yesterday.
18:54Last night I came round, had a look and saw four shows in the space of 10 minutes.
18:57So this morning the plan is I've got to get off by 11 o'clock
19:03for the last game of the season.
19:06So I've got myself a couple of hours, really, and I'm hoping to nick a bite.
19:10But there's a lot of fish here.
19:12I've already seen a couple of shows this morning as well, so fingers crossed.
19:17There was clearly a lot of carp down that end,
19:20but time was running out for a quick Zamora tap-in before he had to leave.
19:25But 90 minutes later, creeping into injury time,
19:28and just as one of the camera guys was taking some photos of Bob's rod...
19:32Right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right.
19:40Was this our first carp? Go on, Zam-o.
19:45No.
19:45What's happened here then? We need to get on the VAR, Bob.
19:53Well, I have no idea what's happening now.
19:55The cameraman was just taking a photo of the rods on the floor and it's bent round.
20:02As I picked it up, I'm not feeling any weight behind it, no power.
20:07So I'm really, really intrigued to see what's on the underwater camera, to be honest.
20:12Ooh, well, here's the VAR incident.
20:15Bob's yellow pop-up sitting up nicely on his hinged stiff rig there.
20:20Ooh, here come two carp missing the hook bait though, but their heads are now down.
20:25They're going to feed.
20:26Looks like they're coming back round towards the camera.
20:29Is something untoward going to happen here? Keep your eyes on the rig.
20:34Ooh, ooh, look at the leader. It's being pulled round.
20:38A fin must have picked up the line, causing the false bite. Unlucky, Zam-o.
20:43Gutted. I didn't get fish on the bank, but VAR has shown it wasn't the hook bait pick-up
20:48and I haven't been done.
20:50So Zamora had skied it over the crossbar and had to leave for the footy.
20:55And I was still at base camp watching motionless live cam screens in the hope of seeing some carp
21:01making an appearance with the now warming sunshine.
21:05With the wind still pushing up the far end and the bulk of the carp clearly up there too,
21:10it was time to call on our super sub once again, Mr Roo Abbott.
21:15So many shows. Luke's seen so many fish. So let's just try and get one of these out now.
21:21He'd stripped off and jumped in swim one, two further up the lake from where Bobby had been
21:26fishing after even more carp had been spotted in that area. Luke swam out Roo's rigs, both of
21:33which had delicate fake corn hook baits, the first to his left-hand margin on a gravel spot next to
21:39a weed bed. And the second across the bay to the far margin where carp had also been seen showing that
21:46morning. I was absolutely buzzing. I managed to get another opportunity to put my rigs out in front of
21:55the cameras. I went for a light approach, a little bit of fake corn just wafting away.
22:00This was my time to shine. I had to prove I could do this.
22:05So many fish out there. It's crazy. This wind's just hacking in there. I've been going for just over a day now.
22:14It's just incredible. Just literally like chocolate milkshakes all around that bay. Unbelievable.
22:21I don't have a bite. I don't know. I'm not going to say I give up fishing, but I'm very confident.
22:30Roo looked to have timed his second cameo appearance to perfection.
22:34He was definitely right in the zone with a carp and it looked bang on for a bite.
22:39It was our fourth day of fishing on our underwater carp project at the Lake of Dreams in Cambridgeshire.
22:52Bobby Zamora had left for the day, but super sub Roo Abba had taken over and was fishing up the
22:58opposite end to base camp where the new wind had seemingly pushed the bulk of the carp.
23:03With the live cam area completely void of carp, I couldn't resist going for a stalk up the other
23:08end myself, accompanied by Luke and my high-tech fish detecting sonar.
23:13Oh, look, look, look. Oh, there's a carp appearing here. Look, look, look, look, look, look. Wow. Just there.
23:20After Luke dived and confirmed the entire bottom of this part of the lake was smoked up,
23:26we stealthily jumped into swim 33. I quickly prepped a squid pop-up on a hinged stiff rig
23:32with fused fluorocarbon linked. Time was of the essence. This is the ultimate craziness.
23:38Luke swam out to drop the rig close to the area we'd spotted the carp. Its position needed to be
23:44really clear, otherwise we wouldn't get good visibility. A must on this project. Let's just
23:50hope the carp could find it. Meanwhile, Roo opposite was still yet to have a bite. The carp had slowed down
23:59top into his left but now seemed to be shown further out into the bay. And they'd also started to
24:06bosh out in front of my swim too. Luke going in to place the rig had certainly not scared them off.
24:12What is going on underwater? I can't see it live. All I can see is what's going on above. Oh, another one.
24:19Oh, they're alive with them in here. Bosh. Bosh. We're going to get a bite. We're going to get a bite.
24:33It was now going carp crazy above the water but what I couldn't see at the time was it was going even
24:40crazier subsurface.
25:10The rod had literally been out five minutes. I knew it was going to be quick. Yes. The scaly one. Look at that.
25:28Come on. Let's get this session off to a start.
25:32It's not a Grenville monster but it's a scaly and we're off the underwater mark at Grenville. Get in!
25:50That's how we roll, baby. That's how we roll. We go Tech. We go Lukey and Ali. Come here, Lukey.
25:56We're off the mark. Well done. Team needed that. Super Sunday. Back over the other side, Ru was watching
26:11some of his spy cam footage with another member of the dive team. Ru's left-hand margin spot had seen carp
26:19all over it en masse. Total fish soup. It was utter carnage all round his rig but
26:26no hook bait pick up. Oh my God. Then the water gets totally smoked up with all the carp traffic and a
26:35big mirror comes in from the left and you can see it spit out either corn free bait or is it his fake
26:42corn hook bait? Either way, he was mega close to catching. I've just been complete and utterly
26:48embarrassed. Embarrassed is just what I can say. There was more carp than water I could see at one point.
26:58Just a random question. Do you own a set of golf clubs by the way, Ru? Yeah, the joys of underwater.
27:03Whilst Ru had been getting his pants pulled down, Luke and I had got my rod back out on the spot before
27:09we checked out the carp as it still looked royally ripe for a bite. As an angler you must make the most
27:15of these windows of opportunity. With the fresh hook bait sitting pretty, I only then took the chance
27:21to inspect our first team carp of the trip. There you go. That is a stunner to get started with. 27 pounds.
27:33The fish in this place never cease to amaze me just how beautiful they are. The scale patterns and look,
27:40I can feel that fresh breeze. Springtime, new winds. They just vacate areas and yeah,
27:51we've all had a little go down this end. And there we go. A little bit of pressure off,
27:59but there's bigger games to play out there. As the old saying goes, five minutes in the right place is
28:06worth five days in the wrong. What a scaly banger to start. I was hungry for more and the carp looked
28:13it too. I felt super confident. An hour passed and with fish still in the area, I just felt I should
28:21have had another bite. I just knew inside that something must be up for it not to have gone.
28:28Unbeknown to me at the time, the spy cam footage later revealed that the carp was still there,
28:34but mother nature herself had pulled my pants down. Madness. The hook and hook bait had become
28:41completely entangled in heavy weed. The weed must have moved by a combination of carp and also the
28:47undertow in the lake. A harsh lesson learned. If you think you really should have had a bite,
28:52that haven't reeled in check because it's highly likely something is wrong.
29:00As the sun set on a beautiful evening, the temperature dropped and the carp stopped showing.
29:06I called it a day, but at least I'd managed a bad one. Unlike my friend, Mr. Roo Abbott,
29:11who'd come incredibly close.
29:14Got it. Rods have to come in now. Not to put one on the bank. I'm pretty devastated to be honest with you.
29:22But that's fishing. On to the next. A for effort, Mr. Roodog. There are very fine lines between success
29:34and failure in fishing. Next time, I'm sure you'll smash it.
29:37The following day, the wind was still pushing from the north east. Zamora was back in the saddle,
29:45had itchy feet and had gone back to swim free to give it another go with two rods,
29:50a spy cam and a new mobile live camera. Ali's going to stay up no carp bay and I want to try
29:57and find them, get on them and try and catch a fish. Simple as that. Just the odd carp ghosted
30:02by Zamora's live camera suggested there were bigger groups elsewhere on the lake.
30:07They certainly weren't down at base camp where I was taking one for the team and manning the lifeless
30:12live cams. I didn't even have any rods out. This day though was all about compiling data
30:18and trying to piece the jigsaw together. We've been able to eliminate areas so we know now the island,
30:24off the island, in the deeper water and around the edge of the island. There isn't enough weed to
30:29keep the fish, they're not interested. The water temperature means they are now almost hugging
30:34the margin lines where the highest weed is, the reeds are and those fish are following this,
30:42you know, this fresh northeasterly but currently with this big wind they are up there. And yeah,
30:51I'm sitting here, no rods out. Just watching a blank screen of nothingness.
30:58Sammo gave it 90 minutes in swim three before reeling in and getting on his toes once more.
31:04He'd spotted carp over the other side of the bay near where I'd caught from yesterday.
31:09So he set up between swims 33 and 34 and fished two rods down in the margins in front of a spy cam
31:15and a mobile live cam which pretty quickly showed a couple of carp.
31:19A nice little ghost pass, that was fantastic. It's filled me with a bit of joy.
31:26As time passed only the odd carp drifted through on Bob's mobile live camera, a far cry from the
31:32action in that area yesterday. We were quickly concluding the motherlode must have moved on
31:38from that top end. But where to? With nothing happening on the live cams at base camp, I went for a
31:43little scout with Geoffrey. That is pretty spectacular. Another of the dive team.
31:51We wanted to check all along the margins, all through the weed looking for clear spots,
31:56what the depths were, just as much data as possible that could prove invaluable. Something
32:02that Bobby was missing on the other side of the lake. So Roo and Ali here yesterday, I mean,
32:07this place was alive with fish. I mean, it was like sea world centre. Today, not like that. So it seems
32:13as if I've missed the boat, missed the bus, missed the fish. I'm a little bit gutted, I must say.
32:25You nearly had me there, Bob. So Zamo sacked it off and as a team, we had some thinking to do.
32:31Where had all the fish moved to? It felt like another recon mission would soon be on the cards
32:37in our attempt to locate them.
32:42With the clock ticking, time running out fast, plus the fact that base camp live cams were dead. Bob
32:48and I decided to head out on the boat, armed with a rod each, underwater spy cams and a live scope
32:54in search of carp. We'd gone off to the right of base camp after Team Intel reported that carp
33:01had been spotted in an area near the margins over thick weed and the drone had shown slightly smoky
33:07water too. It wasn't long before we found them, spotting them above water. Also subsurface via the
33:15live scope. But how long would they stay there? This water was close to swim 21. So we moored up
33:22sharpish, got our rigs prepped and hooked up with the diver Jeffrey, who swam my rig out to the right.
33:28Followed by Bob's, which he dropped to an area off to the left of the swim. The plan for today was to go
33:36chasing them if needed. So we were going to give two hours in this swim, then reassess and move if needed.
33:42Asla, what are you feeling? Quietly confident that we'll certainly have fish feeding on us.
33:52Whether we get picked up and run on the bank is another question.
33:58Yeah, so today's plan is high speed manoeuvres. The fish are definitely reacting to the weather conditions,
34:08the water temperature. They are getting prepared for their annual pilgrimages just into the weed and at
34:16night they're just drifting out into the deeper water, floating between zero and three metres.
34:21So if you were fishing out there on the bottom, wouldn't catch anything anyway. So we are now into
34:28daytime fishing I think and getting to where they're going to be as quickly as possible.
34:34And as the sun and the light picks up, I think they'll come into the edges, into this weed,
34:39start roaming. We've got a chance. We're going to give it two hours here.
34:44But only an hour passed before an impatient Zamora got twitchy and on his toes.
34:50I'd seen a couple of fish in the next swim down, so I decided to have a little move.
34:54I was only trying to catch a fish for us and for myself.
35:00But what we didn't know at this stage was with Bofad carp visiting our spots just before he moved.
35:06Zambo snuck in the swim to my right and within minutes they got the rig out in front of a spy cam,
35:12not far out from the margin. Jeffrey's found a great spot out there, just past the weed,
35:17pretty much where the fish were showing. Past the weed onto a nice clear gravel spot, so fingers crossed.
35:24It gets us a bite and hopefully very, very soon.
35:28Another hour passed without a bite. I felt there must be a mother load of carp
35:33somewhere down this part of the lake. As the rain started, I left Bob fishing.
35:37I went searching with the help of my LiveScope.
35:40That was a whole lot of fish that just appeared on that LiveScope.
35:44Let's just hope we can find some clear water to film them. But me and Bobby in the rain.
35:49We're going to be moving. I hope you can hear me, but we're going to be moving.
35:55I ain't getting on no boat.
35:58In no time at all, Bob had reeled in and was getting the rod back out in the new swim 27 in front of the
36:04spy cam where I'd found the carp and I got my rod out too, but this time in front of the mobile live cam.
36:10Still trying really hard.
36:12It felt a stinker of a day. We hung it out in the rain, but nothing. Soon after,
36:19we found out carp had been sniffing around Bob's camera, but then proper news landed.
36:26Incredibly, spy cam footage from Bob's previous swim revealed an absolute beast of a carp had come close
36:35to his hook bait, which was quickly confirmed by Lakeona Pool to be the lake record carp we were
36:42dreaming of last hour over 65 pounds several months back. So it could easily now be the British record
36:50weight. Absolutely gutted to know that potentially the British record fish was so close to my hook bait,
36:57but without the cameras, we'd have no idea that that was even happening.
37:10It was the penultimate day and despite the weather, Zamo was chomping at the bit up,
37:15out and fishing by 5am. He'd gone back to swim free where he'd fished a few hours on Super Sunday.
37:22His left rod went down the left margin where he'd been doing some cheeky nighttime free baiting,
37:27the little rascal. His other rod went long. 150 yards out was a permanent marker pole at the
37:33venue that carp often rub on, and Bob had seen it knocking from afar. So Jeffers swam out a rig and
37:40placed it nearby on a clear spot. I'd gone to swim 22, the very place the potential British record had
37:46been captured on camera the previous day. I was hoping it was still in the vicinity.
37:52My first rod went exactly where that big carp was seen the day before and the other rod closer in,
37:58right in the edge. Bob and I were both prepped and hopeful for our next underwater bite.
38:04The weather's good. This is good carp catching conditions.
38:08They're not showing a lot here, but that doesn't mean there's not a whole lot of commotion underwater.
38:14As we were fishing with spy cams, we couldn't watch live, but you at home can now see what we
38:20couldn't at the time. Both my rigs were getting inquiries. No signs of the real biggin at this stage
38:26though. And Bob actually had carp feeding on his left-hander. Plus his rig near the pole was getting
38:34some serious interest. But just as it was getting really juicy, the camera battery run out. But at the
38:41same time, Bobby was totally unaware of any of this. Either way, it was now. Fish on for Zamora. Go on,
38:51my son. We have one on. Hey? Hey?
38:54Concentrate now, Bob. You need to get this one in as I couldn't cope with you if you lost it.
39:02Oh, there she blows. I think it's the biggest fish base. A pretty one. A scaly one. And a start.
39:11Nice and steady. Here she comes.
39:13Yes. Nice one, Zamora. Five o'clock in the morning. Getting the rods in the rain.
39:26Yes. Bobby's had one. He'll be happy now. Look at that. Just over 35 pounds.
39:34New spot. Not in the edge where we thought we'd be able to catch them.
39:39Out on the marker pole. Giving us that sign. And we've managed to bag her. What an absolute beauty
39:44as well. Well done, Dazzler. Remember though, next time we need batteries that can keep up with you.
39:52We both fished on in our respective swims, but unfortunately no more bites and no sign of the
39:58potential British record either. With time almost up, pressure was mounting for another bite on camera.
40:05A strong wind was forecast tomorrow to push into base camp and it had already started to swing.
40:12This could be a game changer. It was our final day and the weather forecasters had got it bang on.
40:18The wind was now hacking into base camp corner and pushing all down the left margin. Both live cams
40:24now had fresh rigs in front of them, but no signs of carp as of yet. We were spread betting.
40:31We also put two rods back out on the island long because the wind was smashing there and
40:36we thought we might just have a chance.
40:40AWOL Bob was now back in swim free. He'd baited up again there last night on the left-hand margin.
40:47A rig was placed there on a clear spot, but the water was cloudy signifying carp in the area.
40:53His right-hander was dropped along the adjacent margin and within minutes, carp were checking it out.
40:58Bob was definitely in the zone. All rods were now locked and loaded. The conditions felt
41:05absolutely prime for a bite and a grandstand finish. This wind is what we've been dreaming of
41:12from before we come. It actually makes me emotional to be waiting for it so bad.
41:20We have watched them from first light this morning. You wouldn't have been there,
41:24but I have been watching them and I have seen them slowly, boom, boom, come down that margin line.
41:32And they have come to within, I would say, 10 yards of where our underwater camera,
41:40the first one on that margin is. They are really close. Even though we can't see them on the screens,
41:46as an angler, you can smell them. I won't lie. After over 30 years of doing this, I can smell them in the area.
41:54Meanwhile, back up with Bob in swim free. Little did he realise, but the spy camp footage was currently
42:00showing that his left-hand rod that he had been pre-baiting had carp all over it.
42:06But would one of them snuffle the yellow pop-up on his stiff hindrig?
42:16Oh yes, it would. Get him, Bob.
42:19So this spot down here, I've been feeding for a couple of days now. So far unsuccessfully,
42:35but it feels like a very, very good fish.
42:40And the in-fight underwater camera confirmed he was right. It looked like it could well be a UK
42:46naughty 40. Nice and easy, Bob. This would be an epic achievement.
42:54Boom! A screamer for Zamora.
42:56Yes! Go on, Adazzler.
42:59This was a massive result for Zamo, and he did tip the scales at over 40 pounds.
43:06He'd fished impatiently, he'd fished aggressively, but also very hard.
43:11A proper injury time winner for Mr Bobby Zamora.
43:16What a way to finish my trip at Grenville. Being mobile, moving around, finding the fish,
43:24putting a rig in there and getting the rewards. Ali's static in the corner. Hopefully,
43:30they'll come on to him very, very soon. They're certainly heading that way.
43:33A 40 to finish and on camera as well. I'm very, very happy with that. Unfortunately,
43:39I had to shoot off back to London prior engagements,
43:42but I'll leave it all over to my partner in Prime Alley,
43:46and it was looking really good down in that corner.
43:49With still no signs of carp in live cam corner, I felt I needed another throw of the dice.
43:56So I prepped an extra rod, a lead and paste set up with lock style spinner, my trusty magic rig.
44:03With the aid of the human bait boat Luke, this got taken out as I wanted it dropped along the left-hand
44:08margin. About 40 yards up from the live cam rods. The clock was seriously ticking on the session,
44:14and my thinking was to intercept the carp as they moved down from where Bob had been fishing
44:19in case they didn't quite reach the live cam rods in time. The wind continued to smash into the corner,
44:26and although I couldn't see the carp, I was sure they'd be coming down that left-hand margin.
44:31The new rod was on a spy cam, so I couldn't watch live and I had no idea what was going on
44:37underwater. But as you can now see, carps started appearing on the new spot,
44:42but would once slip up and take my pop-up.
44:45We're away. We're away. Let's go. Let's go.
45:07Pure panic setting. We all needed to get in the boat ASAP. Ready?
45:12I wanted to get out to the fish to gain maximum control to higher the odds of landing it.
45:22It's a funny old game. It's a funny old game. I have kept the belief knowing we were going to get a
45:29bite today. At some point, I knew it was going to happen. We'd made good ground with the boat and we're
45:36now close to the carp. Luke's going to enter the water now to see if we can get some lovely
45:44underwater shots of me playing this fish. The rig techers had done their job. I just needed to
45:51keep calm and play it to the net, avoiding Luke with the camera.
45:54Then it broke the surface for the first time. It's a beautiful scaly.
46:05But ladies and gents, it's getting close. The wind's in our face. The carp is in the net.
46:12We are just starting to boil at the right stage.
46:24Oh, we know the feeling. Talk about leaving it to the last minute. It had been a very tricky trip.
46:32That potential British record had eluded us. However, four car between us, three captured on
46:40our underwater camera. That's a pretty good result. Now, all that was left was to weigh in my latest
46:46scaly stunner. She tipped the scales at a very respectful 26 pounds and four ounces. It's not the
46:53British record, but who cares when they look like this?
46:56What? You don't need to wipe after it.
47:05They don't get more beautiful than that. You definitely don't need to wipe the slime
47:08off your lips after this. I love this game.
47:26All right.
47:38I don't need to keep it tho.
47:42Bye.
47:47Bye.
47:48Bye.
47:50Bye.
47:51Bye.
47:51Bye.
47:52Bye.
47:53Bye.
47:53Bye.
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