40 Lb. MASSIVE Mirror!

I hit the jackpot today as I landed a gargantuan mirror carp that weighed exactly 40 lbs., 2 oz.  The beast was a whopping 41 inches long.  All spring I have been catching a load of 20's and had flirted with 30 lbs. on several fish., coming up just a little short.  So, my goal was to catch a fish over thirty pounds.  This fish shattered that goal and becomes my second 40 that I  have ever landed.
I just knew I had a big fish on as I picked up the rod with the spinning reel.  True to a big fish, this one stayed deep and moved along the bottom.  There were no fast movements.  The fight became a tug of war.  The critical point in a fight with a big fish is getting it into the net.  I made several stabs with the net before I got her. As I did I couldn't help but notice the fish was barely hooked in the lip and one major slip of the net and it would be gone.  Finally, I had my prize in the net.
When I took a photo of the fish on the self timer I was unable to hold the fish outward due to its weight.  The fish was practically pressed against my body.  After a few photos, the fish was released and swam away in good shape.
When I weighed the beast, the Rueben-Heaton scale settled on just over 40 lbs. This is not a record because it was taken in MA waters where the state record for carp is 46 lbs. 
Every year a very few forties are quietly landed in New England.  Few fishermen can lay claim to catching one of these monsters in their lifetime of carp fishing.  It's unreal that I can now say that I have landed two of them!  Wow!