"In the Danube's waves past, present and future / Are all-embracing in a soft caress." - Attila József (One of the most famous Hungarian poets of the 20th century.)
This time we didn’t sit down “on the lowest stone of the quay” like our great poet; instead, we tried our luck on the Danube at Neszmély. We wanted to test our baits and our angling skills on a tough venue. Gaben, Peti and Hudo started fishing on Wednesday, while Robi and I arrived on Thursday morning. We set up camp at the back of the Éden Camping site in Neszmély. The campsite covers several hectares and has every facility (electricity, shared amenities) we could possibly need.
We had a 200-metre stretch of bank at our disposal, and since we were the only ones on this stretch, we spread out our swims. In the 10 °C water we placed our markers 80–100 metres from the bank, in 1.80–2.20 metres of water.
For baiting we used two types of flavour, sweet and savoury, together with a particle mix and halibut pellets. Of the sweet flavours we used C1 and Cocoshell boilies, and of the savoury ones M1 and Frankfurter Sausage, in 20–24 mm sizes, halved. The constantly changing water level and the river’s current made both fishing and baiting difficult.
The leads we used were at least 170 grams. We spread our bait a good 5–6 metres upstream of the hookbait lying on the bottom, so that the current would carry it down to the right spot as it sank.
As hookbaits we used 14–20 mm M1, C1, C2, C3 and M4, as well as Tuna & Black Pepper baits, sometimes trimmed together with pop-ups as snowman presentations. We tied our hair rigs in varying lengths, from 12 to 25 cm. Following the Danube’s constantly changing water level, we didn’t move our markers, but we placed our baits at different depths. Over the five days we fished a range of depths, from 50 cm of water down to 5.5 metres, while sticking to the baiting strategy described above.
In the 56th hour of our session Peti’s bite alarm sounded, and 10 minutes later we were photographing a mirror of around 4 kg!
Peti’s fish came after more than 50 hours!
Then, on Saturday night, another bite caught our attention…
A silver carp took Peti’s pop up!
At dawn on Sunday I was woken by a strong run on my Tuna & Black Pepper bait, placed on the riverbed at a depth of 4.5 metres. I struck, jumped quickly into the boat with Robi, and out onto the Danube we went! After a while the line went tight but wouldn’t move… It was snagged on something! Then it popped free and I tightened up again. At that moment an enormous force almost ripped the rod out of my hands! Robi and I looked at each other. He was a little paler, and whispered: “This is going to be a big one, Erik!”
Even after 15 minutes of playing it, the primal power of the Danube still didn’t want to show itself! Meanwhile we also had to dodge huge pieces of driftwood floating down the river, which at times “attacked” the boat like torpedoes.
After 20 minutes we caught sight of the fish! We were speechless and didn’t dare make a sound! Robi got the landing net ready, and we worked together like a well-oiled team. Five minutes later we netted the fish – it was ours! A huge golden body lay in the net, and we let out a mighty roar of joy! Thank you for this beautiful gift, Danube; thank you, Neszmély!
In line with the regulations, we brought the fish to the bank in the landing net, and then it was time for the weigh-in!
17,975 kg!
After notifying the fishery bailiff service, we retained the fish – with permission – until it could be officially verified.
When the bailiff arrived, we learned that we had caught a new record! No carp of this size had ever been reported from this stretch of the Danube!
Our joy knew no bounds, as the photos below show.
But when it rains, it pours! Another bite while we were packing up! We managed to conjure up one more carp of around 6 kg, this time on Tuna & Black Pepper!
A Danube six
Neszmély, just perfect
Now, as I write these lines, tired (I didn’t sleep much last night – the adrenaline was still pumping), I still can’t believe what a gift the Danube gave us! We had to sit it out, but it was worth it. I use the plural on purpose, because this is a shared catch, a shared joy, a shared glory and a shared record! Thank you for your help, Robi, Peti, Gaben and Hudo! And last but not least, thank you to SBS for the superb baits! Without them, this wouldn’t have happened!
We thank the KEMHESZ fishery bailiff service, István Szakály and Bence Schmidt-Kovács, for their expert work, and Tamás Goóth of Éden Camping in Neszmély for the superb spot and his unrivalled helpfulness!
Erik Szabo
(RoadCrew Team)