MEMORABLE CAPTURES  ''  THE  CAPTURE  OF  NELSON  ''  BY  JULIAN  CUNDIFF

Over the last few years I Matt have been very lucky indeed to have had the opportunity to interview my angling hero and good friend  
Julian Cundiff

this time around I'm talking to Julian regards one of his memorable captures

Julian has caught carp from all over the UK during the years he has been angling, from mid doubles up to 40lb + most recently the
​'' Decade '' fish from Kevin Nash's Church pool

The Decade Fish.....

in this Interview I'm talking to Julian about another special capture a carp called '' Nelson ''

I asked Julian various questions during the interview such as the venue, the conditions on the day, rig and tactics used etc

in Julian's words here's the full low down regards the '' Capture of Nelson ''
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The Words Of Julian Cundiff.....

Hi Matthew lovely to see you again and you certainly have put me on the spot there 

I have had so many memorable fish over the years but the reason I am going for ''Nelson'' is that because I had also caught the lakes other biggest fish shortly before '' Nelson '' poor old Nelson tends to get forgotten about

the water was a Hull and district One called Motorway Pond in that it was slap bang next to the M62 which runs from Manchester to Hull

I'd done really well on the other Hull water Tilery catching over 20 x 20's ( which was a hell of a lot In Yorkshire In 89/90 ) and fancied a change

the biggest fish in Tilery was around 27 And in motorway around 29+ so it would be a chance to get my first 30

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Google Maps - Motorway Pond.....

 
the Motorway pond was a pond that Hull and district would put fish from other venues in to thrive when the other waters had peaked. With brand new fish as well of stacks of weed and natural food in it, it was thought this could be their flagship water in years to come. Not only full of weed it was full of sunken trees and hundreds of Bream, not sure which was worse the Bream I think?


as ever most of my fishing was overnighters ( and It was 45-60 minutes each way from home ) but I did spend a lot of time In early spring at weekends walking round it trying to come to terms with it, full of bays, hidden corners and the like no one swim could ever be relied on to hold fish, real head banging stuff that you either loved it or hated it? I hated It, I really did, the M62 was never quiet, the mossies and earwigs were horrendous and the carp were all over the show

bait wise Matthew I went in on the good old Nutrabaits big fish mix with GLME, Cranberry and Salmon Oil. Because of the bream I used 24mm baits and hook baits, hook wise a size 4 Drennan continental sharpened on a simple braided rig and I hate to admit I dropped It by radio controlled boat. Originally I started by fishing single pop ups over crumb but the bream mullered me so I'd drop my hook bait and fire by catapult 2-3 kilos of 24mm depth charges !!! that actually was the last time I ever used a boat, almost 25 years ago
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Nutrabait's Big Fish Mix.....

to be honest Matthew I didn't know I was going to catch it but I knew I was going to catch carp! I'd found them off a big weed bed off Rat Island but you had to fish It from Thommo's point.. The weed was really starting to come up and I knew I had two weeks max before I would lose the swim to weed, I had seen two very big carp lump out so it was fingers crossed


again being honest that particular fish was not a target I just wanted to beat my personal best which at the time was Lucy at ( 27-12 ) from Three Lakes, I'd seen both '' Nelson '' and the other big carp in Motorway nicknamed '' Mallys fish '' and I thought both were around 30 pounds? when I caught It I had done around 20 nights but after a stuttering start with bream and a stack of stockies ( Carp from 16 - 22 lb ) and Mallys fish at 30 +

Nelson In All It's Glory.....

as I said I did catch Mallys at 30 + ( my first 30 and the waters first 30 ) but just after that I had '' Nelson '' at 29 +,  it was an amazing fight and when I netted it seeing a head lacking one eye really freaked me out, but what a character fish, after catching it that was me done on their I'd done what I wanted to do, twice, I hated the noise, hay-fever, closeness to houses the lot and never again would I put weights over enjoyment!

should I really answer this?  I find most '' bounty hunter '' carp anglers soul less individuals more concerned with weight than enjoyment, but as you asked I will tell you mate. first tip is you have to want it and want it bad! the more you want it the harder you will fish. Nothing will be too much trouble be it cost, friendships, time or having a life, but you asked. You need to avoid baiting approaches that encourage multiple hits and fish for a bite, the bite from the one you want. Do your research as to location, preferred swims and time of year, big fish can be predictable Matthew, the rest is just graft and sheer bloody mindedness

lovely to see you again and thanks for running my fan page

best wishes to all out there Julian Cundiff

what a fantastic and inspirational interview my thanks to Julian for taking the time out from his busy life to do this interview for me 
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thank you for reading tight lines and happy angling
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Matt

The Capture Of Nelson In Video.....