View Full Version : Rare pics of the original Snake Pit Common
JamesMackenzie
24-06-2009, 19:36
A few weeks ago whilst looking through a photo album belonging to Neil Messenger of DT baits, i came across these snaps of the awesome original snake pit common. Taken by Neil in april 96, they are probably the last pictures of the great fish before it passed away in the following months.
http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af305/jamesmackenzie/Scan1.jpg
http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af305/jamesmackenzie/Scan2.jpg
Benny_the_bream
24-06-2009, 19:38
Awsome pics thanks for sharing.
NorfolkBob
24-06-2009, 20:06
lovely!!
kel14spurs
24-06-2009, 20:08
how big was she/he ? :D
Best weight think was Damian Clarke, 45.12 springs to mind
Damiien Clarke at it's biggest, 45-12 wasnt it?? Must of been early 90's, i can remember seeing it in the Times....
Best weight think was Damian Clarke, 45.12 springs to mind
We cant be far away then mate, thats pretty good guessing, especially as it was so long ago ;)
Lloyd Sanders
24-06-2009, 20:38
Pukka fish !!!:notworthy:
Little joe
24-06-2009, 20:48
That's just bought back fond memories....good work James!
What a sight it was in the water 8 feet away....immaculate!
travelling carper
24-06-2009, 21:14
if i remember rite damian had it pretty early into the season on a mainline bait with green lip mussel remember the pic in the rags looked huge
great pics thanks:thumbs:
Second day of the season 1991 on mainline. I remember visiting snake a couple of days after the first recorded capture of the fish and as i walked to the car park snags it was right there in front of me. The biggest fish I'd had at the time was 24lb and the biggest i'd seen in the water was the garrison fish at 35lb, but that thing was just awesome! It remains my greatest memory of carp fishing and i think clarkeys capture of it still ranks as one of the best of all time, and the photos of it on front of big carp are some of the best i've ever seen, think tincataylor may have done some of the best piccies?
funny i was flicking through a old carp world today ,and it had chris balls report on damo's catch in it .cracking fish just a shame that a certain club deemed it worthy to add some more fish to the snake :(
funny i was flicking through a old carp world today ,and it had chris balls report on damo's catch in it .cracking fish just a shame that a certain club deemed it worthy to add some more fish to the snake :(
sort of agree davey but there were a maximum of only 5 fish left when they put them fish in, if that. And to be fair the place was just a free for all that had been run into the ground. Some of them fish they put in are now going forties themselves so not all bad i suppose.
tincataylor
24-06-2009, 22:59
June 17th 1991 if i remember rightly , got some good pics of it myself . Not in the water though .
kel14spurs
24-06-2009, 23:02
it simply dwarfs that fish along side it, awsome pictures, before my time though :)
it simply dwarfs that fish along side it, awsome pictures, before my time though :)
Kel, at that time there was the big one, another short fat common at around 31, a mirror of 17ish and two tiddlers. Gives you some idea how hard it was, 9 acres odd i think and full of snags and weed! Whoever caught any of them fish sure deserved them!
immense pictures, what a fish that was :eek: :eek:
mark boyle
25-06-2009, 08:28
any chance anyone has some pics of it on the bank they can put up?
Cooperman
25-06-2009, 08:38
Kevin Nash had the fat common at 31lb, used it on his product labels for some time. I remember the chapter in Maylins book that Zen and Rael did, Zen had the common at 40lb+ and Rael had a 17lb mirror with a split dorsal (i think), he might even have had a 26lb mirror too, what a lake that must have been, fishing there knowing that massive common could pick up your bait.
Amazing pics of it in the water, and Damiens pics on the cover of BC were about the best cover shots i have ever seen.
Psyclops
25-06-2009, 08:47
I fished the pit when Sudbury Angling had it before CAPS took control. Paid £15 for the season and hardly saw a sole on the bank, 2 other anglers.
Saw it so many times in the snags and it was often in the company of a small mirror. Then the following spring, early march, it was in a right state, white finned and on deaths door, until she finally passed away. Shame. Never did find out why but we heard of some stockies put in there and the next thing it turned up dead. Shame, lovely fish to see in the margins but frustrating when it wouldn't come out.
Did perk me up when I used to get down there and not see it in the snags, always a hope.
Got some old mags at home and sure there is a pic of Damo in one somewhere, I'll have a look later.
carpsberg
25-06-2009, 09:01
Quite poignant those photos, swimming round with a couple of the stockies which probably lead to its demise...
My mate was in with Damo, Renick, Paul Well's ect when they called themselves the MAG7.
Paul Well's had the Common before Damo and my mate Steve went along for the photos. Never quite forgiven him for not picking me up!
MattPilky
25-06-2009, 09:10
great stuff!!
think everyone wet their pants a little at every photograph of that one.
Phil Harpers were good pics as well..
pile of gold soverigns?
Blonde_Tim
25-06-2009, 09:24
in bazils bush? looked superb.
amazing fish, and great photos up here.
Thanks for sharing that James, cracking stuff from yesteryear!
I liked the bit Damian done in Zen's Mainline Connection rig book, various chapters from talented anglers from that time.
The new Snake Pit Common aint a bad replacement and some lakes are destined to produce large Carp and the Snakes one of them, even a certain wandering mirror grew on a fair bit in the place.
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s38/stompa32/snakecommon.jpg here you go folks, awesome fish!
Proper fish that 1 and a lovely shape for a big un.....
Once again an ill needed stocking killed a stunner....
The club would have been better spending the money on securing the site and removing the snags..............
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s38/stompa32/snakecommon.jpg here you go folks, awesome fish!
FM it was it was beauty. As black as the ace of spades.
mark boyle
25-06-2009, 13:42
Stomp thanks for that mate. what a stunner!!! :notworthy: :eek: :cool:
they really don't come any better than that!!
an iconic picture to say the least:thumbs:
Stomp thanks for that mate. what a stunner!!! :notworthy: :eek: :cool:
no probs, zens account of catching it is in fox pool and damo has a chapter in tim paisleys "memories of carp" both dam good reads, the lake dosn,t look anything like it did back in the day with most of the snags gone now, although it does still get pretty choca with weed.
Best looking common ever but Burghfield common is some fish to.
Psyclops
25-06-2009, 18:03
no probs, zens account of catching it is in fox pool and damo has a chapter in tim paisleys "memories of carp" both dam good reads, the lake dosn,t look anything like it did back in the day with most of the snags gone now, although it does still get pretty choca with weed.
Great accounts Stomp, remember the weed when I fished it that particular season, I had 2 rake heads on rope and a pile of weed 4 foot high just to get a spot and some bait down.
Darth_Mullet
25-06-2009, 22:04
This is history. Great thread :)
Great accounts Stomp, remember the weed when I fished it that particular season, I had 2 rake heads on rope and a pile of weed 4 foot high just to get a spot and some bait down.
remember fishing it in 92 i think, spent a whole day raking clear spots and then got some bait in. went back next day, areas all closed up again! raked them clear again and got some baits in, in morning all the surrounding weed had fallen in and all three baits were buried, but if that fish was still there i'd still be raking now!
infinity1
25-06-2009, 23:20
in my mind it IS one of the fish of the past 20 years,superb fish anyone got anymor pics of it? got rid of my big carps with it in,pics of zen with it phil harper etc???
tincataylor
26-06-2009, 00:24
Got some old school slides of two captures of it , Paul at 43.08 and Damo at 45.12 . The fish just blew me away the first time i saw it on the bank , it was an absolutely massive fish back in 1990 , biggest i had seen before that was a low twenty ! Nearly got the sack for going to photograph the "Fat Common" for Damo when he had it the year before he had the big one . Passed on most of the pictures to Chris Ball at the Five Lakes show , at least they will be not lost for the future .
carpmanjay
03-11-2009, 13:26
ive got a pic of the new snake common in the water if anyones is interested???
pennywise
03-11-2009, 13:51
aye post em up
carpmanjay
03-11-2009, 14:02
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn268/nickyandjay/115.jpg
there you go guys, it could well of been nudging 50lb when this was taken, i spent hours waiting for her!!!!
wanderindog
03-11-2009, 14:02
ive got a pic of the new snake common in the water if anyones is interested???
yep:thumbs:
ive got a pic of it in my arms lol ;)............ great pic mind jay :thumbs:
NoCarpMark
03-11-2009, 17:35
lol Jay you have spent hours trying to catch her!!! ; )
carpmanjay
03-11-2009, 17:52
yeah i sure have!! still im getting through em, and learning all the time, next year shes mine!!
Psyclops
03-11-2009, 19:54
Think I'll have to come and have a play next year Jay, too much on this season;)
carpmanjay
03-11-2009, 19:57
good man!! could do with few more decent anglers on there!!
badangler
03-11-2009, 20:16
it has become a bit of a circus again though unfortunately in the last 2-3years:(
badangler
03-11-2009, 20:19
ive got a pic of it in my arms lol ;)............ great pic mind jay :thumbs:
What a fluke:bonk: (same as my capture before you say it):bonk:
actually if i knew how to i would consider putting a couple up but i dont know how to so there you go!
carpmanjay
03-11-2009, 20:31
it has become a bit of a circus again though unfortunately in the last 2-3years:(
your not wrong there, ive seen some horrendous angling over the last to years, even a few days ago a lad fished the night without a friggin landing net!!!
i dont mind the lake being busy if it was being filled up with decent anglers making the most of the swim and chances, and a decent conversation over a brew when the goings tough, even that is a rare thing at the moment.
Psyclops
03-11-2009, 20:32
it has become a bit of a circus again though unfortunately in the last 2-3years:(
Like it did when Dippy was in there, and what happened....it got caught and the lake emptied for a week or so. You'd think it was the only thing worth catching in there. Glory hunters:dissapoint:
Aside from then Dippy and now the Big Common there are some crackers in there
badangler
03-11-2009, 20:36
Like it did when Dippy was in there, and what happened....it got caught and the lake emptied for a week or so. You'd think it was the only thing worth catching in there. Glory hunters:dissapoint:
Aside from then Dippy and now the Big Common there are some crackers in there
absolutley,i am more excited by some of the smaller fish that i caught out of there than the big one,there is one that we always called stumpy,funny looking fish but is such a character,under 20 then dont know how big now!!
No landing net lol
carpmanjay
03-11-2009, 20:39
Like it did when Dippy was in there, and what happened....it got caught and the lake emptied for a week or so. You'd think it was the only thing worth catching in there. Glory hunters:dissapoint:
Aside from then Dippy and now the Big Common there are some crackers in there
and heres a couple
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn268/nickyandjay/IMG_0713.jpg
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn268/nickyandjay/IMG_0733.jpg
carpmanjay
03-11-2009, 20:41
i think stumpy is still around, not one ive seen tho..
badangler
03-11-2009, 20:43
and heres a couple
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn268/nickyandjay/IMG_0713.jpg
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn268/nickyandjay/IMG_0733.jpg
top ones lettace leaf?
Dont remember having the bottom one
Psyclops
03-11-2009, 20:53
Nice Jay:thumbs:
Shame some of the glory hunters don't think that way. Best rid though
carpmanjay
03-11-2009, 20:54
yeah top is lettauce leaf/peck
bottom is billy
badangler
03-11-2009, 21:07
yeah top is lettauce leaf/peck
bottom is billy
ooops that's a bit embarrassing as i named billy lol
nice piccys though
fair while ago though
badangler
03-11-2009, 21:22
what weights do the lupys go now,right lumpy is a lovely fish
ooops that's a bit embarrassing as i named billy lol
nice piccys though
fair while ago thoughshame on you not reconising billy sam, go stand in the corner :) lumpy left was out the other week 33ish?? would that be right jay?
carpmanjay
03-11-2009, 23:55
yeah left lumpy been out mate, in carp talk last week. 36lb apparently but only out a month earlier at 34lb. if it was weighed correctly then its the biggest shes been.
Mark Fullbrook
04-11-2009, 11:50
I remember playing around Snake (it wasnt called that then) when we were kids which would have been around 82 onwards.
When I got into my fishing we used to fish for eels there (84-85) then run down Garrison to look at the bigguns (think they were carp) in the Gin Clear water!
Got smashed up a number of times fishing for eels on the far bank from the road... always wonder whether it might have been a Carp.....
Also remember fishing with all of that lot at Layer.. when Essex was the hot bed of Carp fishing... Far outclassing Kent etc.
Of course, i moved away from Essex in 1989 and moved to Berkshire - which of course then became the hot bed of Carp fishing..... :)
NoCarpMark
04-11-2009, 12:16
"I remember playing around Snake (it wasnt called that then) when we were kids which would have been around 82 onwards"
Donnylands back then?
onamission
04-11-2009, 12:22
Think it was always known as Donnylands until Nashy wrote a piece in Angling Times about seeing adders there whilst he was fishing.
i fished it when maldon had it ,it was in the handbook as donnylands then
carpmanjay
04-11-2009, 12:39
still refered to as donnylands by quite a few.
an amazing water even now, hated the place when i first visited but perservered and now in love it down there. im sure a lot of you feel the same.
Come on jay, you've seen stumpy a few times!!!!
Right lumpy has been around 34 this season, left out at 36 a month ago and rumour has it a certain Stompers Lin at 33. Now that is a fish.
carpmanjay
04-11-2009, 17:00
who had stumpy then??? honestly cant remeber it, or does it have another name?
carpmanjay
04-11-2009, 17:02
show as the lin stomp!!!
here you go jay, mid 20 here but a fair bit bigger now, cracking carp and it loves a ruck!!
and here is stumpy, not the best looking carp but one of the lakes characters
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s38/stompa32/stompslin.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s38/stompa32/brokentail.jpg
Mark Fullbrook
04-11-2009, 20:35
"I remember playing around Snake (it wasnt called that then) when we were kids which would have been around 82 onwards"
Donnylands back then?
Dont know.....
To be honest I was 9 years old... I used to poach it! I used to run over there through the woods from near the firing ranges! :o
badangler
04-11-2009, 20:53
here you go jay, mid 20 here but a fair bit bigger now, cracking carp and it loves a ruck!!
and here is stumpy, not the best looking carp but one of the lakes characters
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s38/stompa32/stompslin.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s38/stompa32/brokentail.jpg
who the hell is that young bloke holding the fish!
also that is folded tail,not the magnificent stumpy,stumpy is much uglier
send me a pic of stumpy mate, youve got me all confused now :confused: and i dont look a day older today you cheeky sod :lol:
Psyclops
04-11-2009, 21:21
send me a pic of stumpy mate, youve got me all confused now :confused: and i dont look a day older today you cheeky sod :lol:
Yes you do :lol:
ok maybe just a bit :lol:
carpmanjay
04-11-2009, 22:26
gona say stomp thats floppy tail, !!!
is it still alive? funny looking thing, always thought it was stumpy
carpmanjay
05-11-2009, 11:12
yeah mate i had it in june, erm not sure what weight, think it was 23lbish
badangler
05-11-2009, 17:52
you must know stumpy stompa,its not that different to folded tail except its got a broken tail and is really short,its the one where you get a view of it when your playing it in and you think bloomin heck thats a lump(only from side view)and then you net it and think my god where did that big fish go!!
I could send you a picture,but it would be by post!!!!:bonk:as i havent got any of them on ther computer,dont start talking to me about scanners and stuff!!
carpmanjay
05-11-2009, 18:38
i know stumpy!!!! swims with a limp if you know what i mean. often refered to as the pig nowadays.
Lloyd Sanders
05-11-2009, 18:51
one of the Best looking common !!!!
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