Monster Carp Fishing In Tygum Lagoon

So i guess this post is kind of more a documentation than an actual question or anything, but landing big carp lately has got me wondering.... How big do these bastards actually get in Australia? I have seen photos of massive ones but they are from Europe, and i have heard that the largest in Australia was 20kg, but the veracity of this i am uncertain of. So, what's the biggest Carp you guys have pulled out, and what kind of bait and rigs do you use for the really big ones? The largest Carp i have caught (78cm) was pulled out of a creek with a hook no bigger than a pinkie nail, surely that can't be the only way to catch big ones. So yeah, any help would be great, information is always appreciated, and check out these videos of some pretty serious carp i have landed over the past 2 days.

55cm model at Tygum Lagoon on 9lb Mono
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykNBO0TiyqA
65cm Model at Tygum Lagoon on 9lb Mono
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePbdeO0_QJI

http://rainbowrunner.ausfish.com.au/...s/CarpBigK.jpg

from Sydney about 8kg, and saw bigger, huge koi in nepean river too
we were using bread unweighted and bream gear. good fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...;v=RfdpyOaqBNw

I've done a LOT of carp fishing in the UK, but non so far in AUS......but after reading this post I'll be heading to Tygum Lagoon pretty soon to give it a go! :)

Going off my experience, which is UK based but I'm sure the same rules apply here, to catch the big ones you have to pay close attention to your rig set up as they can 'Spook' very easily!

A rig I used almost exclusively would be something like this, minus the little putty weight between the swivel and hook. Carp are naturally bottom feeders, so you want the whole rig lying on the bottom, so darker coloured hooks and braid are used generally to match the colour of the surface (often muddy). You can have a running sinker if you want, but I generally used a fixed sinker similar to this picture, as it helps hook the Carp when they take the bait and run (like I said they spook easily so when they feel something is up, they bolt)

As for baits, present it all the same way in the above rigs, any of the following do well; corn (3/4 kernels), curried luncheon meat (1" x 1" square), pepperoni sticks and large pellets (halibut pellets, trout pellets etc) if you can even get them here. But the No #1 bait for big Carp is something called a Boilie....as per the bait in the pics above. They come in hundreds of 'flavours' [Read: Smells], Tutti frutti, pineapple, squid, chocolate, tuna...the list goes on, and colours including pink, yellow, brown, green etc etc. I have caught on plenty of variations, and each angler will have their own favourites. These are difficult to source here, so you would likely have to import them or make them (which isn't as easy as it sounds following basic instructions!)

Also it's a good idea to surround your bait with PLENTY of particles/pellets/ground bait (like a freshwater burley). If you cant source trout pellets here, try chicken pellets soaked in tuna oil. Put about a litre out in the water where your going to throw your line in, then once you cast out leave your line in. Don't move it, or keep bringing it in. You need to be patient and let it sit still or you could potentially spook any carp near bye. Generally I would leave a boilie in anywhere between 1-4hrs (The later at night) as they stay solid and giving off smell for ages!! If your using corn or meat maybe 1-2hrs.
Each time you cast out add another half ltr of pellets, and stick to the same spot.....your goal is to tempt the Carp to you not chase them around the lake.

Oh, and if you see carp feeding from the surface, try supergluing a dog biscuit to the back of the hook shank and throw the hook in on its own to float.....nothing better than watching it come to the surface to scoop up your bait!!

Anyway......I'll be putting this all to the test myself now I know theres carp to be had :-)