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CARPLIFE
HERITAGE
INSIGHT
& INTERVIEWS
TACKLE USED
Rods: Spiralite 12ft and 13ft
carbon
Reels: Abu 55
Line: Maxima
Hooks: Au Lion D’Or size 6
spade end
Bite indication: Optonics,
with Catchum Monkey
Climbers
Bait: Catchum Protein Mix
boilies, flavoured with Pukka
Salmon
THE CATCH THAT
INSPIRED A GENERATION
Ritchie McDonald’s capture of the carp that would later become known as
Bazil proved it was possible to set out your stall for one fish, and succeed...
58 | May 2017 | carpfeed.com
LEFT: The
original line
drawing
from AT,
showing the
path of the
carp, once
hooked.
HIS month we
T
take a look back
to October 1984,
when Ritchie
McDonald caught a
45lb 12oz carp from
Yateley North Lake, Hants.
It was the second-largest carp ever
landed, playing
second fiddle only to
Chris Yates’ 51lb 6oz
fish from Redmire
Pool in June 1980 – and just as Richard
Walker’s 44lb British record of 1952
had inspired a whole generation of
carp anglers, so Ritchie’s capture of the
North Lake Mirror did likewise.
The story behind the catch can be
traced back to a conversation Ritchie
had with close friend and fellow
big-carp pioneer, Rod Hutchinson.
Speaking to Angling Times shortly
“After seeing the
photo Rod had, I knew
I’d have to go for it”
after the capture, Ritchie (30) said:
“The fish had been caught several times
before and I wasn’t impressed with the
pictures I’d seen of it. Then, in a café
one afternoon, Rod suggested I take
another look. After seeing the photo, I
knew I’d have to go for it.”
Some weeks later Ritchie began
his prebaiting
campaign,
using 9lb of Rod
Hutchinson’s
Catchum Protein Mix, flavoured with
Pukka Salmon and coloured orange.
Two friends, John North and Mark
Cox, baited up for Ritchie two days a
week for a fortnight before he began
his two-month campaign to catch the
fish, which would later become known
as ‘Bazil’.
After catching three fish to 28lb over
his first three sessions, on October
S
H
O
W