My New 2018 Personal Best at 37 Pounds and 7 Ounces

The local Michigan guys know that I've been hoping to catch a 30# fish for quite some time.

I think I might be one of the last of the local carp angling club crew who hadn't caught a fish of 30 pounds or greater. The absence of the magic 30# carp has much to do with the waters I fish as anything else. The convenient water near me just doesn't seem to produce many big fish at this point.

Four years ago I had one in sight but the net person zigged instead of zagged; and it literally became "the one that got away". I've had a 29# fish once since then. I was fortunate enough to improve upon that fish and increased my personal best by 8 pounds and change to a whopping 37 pounds and 7 ounces.

I could tell the fish was special when it was still 50 feet from the bank and knowing that; I got really nervous as it approached the net.

This water has produced some 30# fish in the past, but none in recent years. This fish was completely unexpected and much bigger than any fish I know of caught on this water in at least 2 years.

37 pounds and 7 ounces; my new personal best

Look at that tail. For reference the mat is 36 inches long.
I didn't have a tape measure, but I am guessing almost 40 inches.

What a tail span

This fish was very long and very dense

When I have more time, I may be able to adjust some of the over exposure in these photos to bring out more of the details in the fish. The trouble with fishing in bright sunlight is the difficulty taking pictures in bright sunlight. It's kind of a bummer when you catch the biggest fish of your life.

Posing a fish like this is also not easy. It was heavy to hold it up properly and kept wanting to lean backwards. I did manage a few shots to give the fish the justice it deserves.

Here's an example of how posing affects the pictures of the fish we capture. The fish is heavy and I'm having trouble keeping it perpendicular to the ground. It's tilting backwards about 60 degrees and compared to the picture above you can see how different the outcome is.