It is quite an accomplishment to hook onto a giant leather and they are capable of putting up quite a fight The sound of your alarm screaming off in the middle of the night, and landing a new PB is enough to tempt carp anglers back again and again. Fighting as hard as other carp, leathers won't pull as hard as commons due to their lack of red blood cells and overall strength. As species without fat reserves, leathers tend to come to the surface in the winter, making them an easy catch on cold evenings. Make sure you use a good quality landing net (around 30 inches or so) and allow the fish to rest a little while in the net while you bring it to land. As with all carp, lift your catch onto a good carp unhooking mat so that the skin, scales and slime are not damaged by anything protruding from the banking. Keep the fish wet with water from the venue during unhooking, weighing and photos and return fully when the carp has recovered in its net in the water.