A New Record Crucian Carp?

Reports in the latest issue of Angling Times suggest a new record crucian carp has been landed by Adam Brookbanks at a weight yet to be confirmed by scales checks but looks likely to be anywhere between 2oz and perhaps 6oz above the current official BRFC record of 4lb 12oz.

Details will be confirmed in due course and I for one offer my congratulations to the captor and potential new record holder. Sad then that some less generous folk on social media are already dismissing the fish and claiming it doesn’t count as a ‘proper’ record because it was landed by an angler they regard as not deliberately targeting the species.

How utterly petty. Or perhaps I should say jealous.

Do folk actually understand what a British Rod Caught Record Fish is in this digital age we live in? It is the heaviest fish of a given species caught by fair means on rod and line. That is it. End of. The fish is the record, not the captor.

Once confirmed, authenticated, scales checked and witness statements accepted by the Committee, it will duly enter the record list.

All the ah-buts and deniers can then crawl back where they came from. It is a fish we should celebrate not decry. It is the very fact that a record can one day be claimed from a water not previously recognised as having the potential, by an unknown angler or even a schoolkid that gives record fish captures their mystique, their magic. I never want to see a day when records are reserved for a select few anglers repeatedly catching the same known fish to put another notch on their rod butt.

A fish like this is part of the real magic of our glorious sport.

You can read the full story of Adam’s capture in this week’s issue of Angling Times.

Bob’s Latest Book – The Mighty Trent

Was Available from Little Egret Press

Currently SOLD OUT. Watch this space for updates. Thank you for making my project a runaway success.

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Bob Roberts1 month ago

I thoroughly enjoyed my final outing of the river season yesterday on the mighty Trent targeting and catching chub on maggot feeder (WH Lane’s top quality maggots from Independent FishingTackle and Bait shop, Doncaster). It was far from an easy day with not so much as a touch in the first couple of hours but a change of swim found a few fish. When I say a change, I mean moving to the next swim upstream. Sometimes it’s a simple as that. Location, location, location.

Not that I caught monsters, the biggest were fours and I failed to get a picture of the best fish of the day as the rain was coming down horizontally like stair rods when I netted it. That one was a big four that looked as if it was newly minted. Not a scale or fin out of place and bright silver, too. It practically looked like a summer fish. Clearly a young fish that is growing fast. A potential future monster.

It was a cold, clear morning with a biting wind in my face but as lunchtime approached this shifted round to a northerly yet surprisingly it felt a topcoat warmer under the now cloudy skies. Of course, the change brought rain and hail showers, some quite vicious in nature.

I was packed and on my way home by 4pm, satisfied with 8 good chub. I missed two bites that I didn’t even see at the death. Frustrating but a reminder that chub fishing involves concentration and striking at bites rather than letting bolt rigs and bite alarms take the strain. When ‘proper’ fishing I struggle to keep up the necessary level of concentration required for more than 5 hours. Do you?

On reflection, what sets the really best anglers apart is not knowing how to tie a hair rig or shot a pole, it’s the level of concentration required to be on your A game for the entire duration.

Anyway, that’s it for the 24/25 river season. Time now to revisit the local canals, an odd commercial here and there, a couple of gravel pits are calling and it’s rapidly coming round to tench and carp. time again.

A change is as good as a rest.

Tight lines.

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Bob Roberts1 month ago

I appreciate this post will appeal to only a tiny minority of anglers, in particular, serious book collectors only. When Wayne Crier published my recent Mighty Trent book. Back in November he also produced just ten leather bound copies.
Leathers are incredibly expensive to create and are the preserve of a passionate few. They are certainly not cheap at around £250 each but that is what it costs for hand crafted books with their slip cases, silk bookmark, mottled page edges, dedications, etc.
The people who order them know exactly what they are getting, why the cost is so high and are still prepared to invest, as that is what the serious end of the book market is. Investing. And that’s why it came as something of a shock when two customers who had ordered their copies failed to respond when the leathers arrived on the doorstep of The Little Egret Press headquarters. As usual they were sent and email to advise payment was due but they simply ignored the message. Now there may well be a very good reason as to why they have not sent payment for the books they ordered but there simply has been no response, a reason, an apology perhaps. You might think an email, letter, FB Messenger, WhatsApp, phone call or whatever, would not be a lot to ask, but nothing, total radio silence.
Which means, two lucky people could unexpectedly find themselves the proud owners of a leather bound copy of The Mighty Trent. Should you be interested then please contact Wayne Crier at Little Egret Press: https://thelittleegretpress.co.uk/
Email: [email protected]
Or by phone: 07909 090983
Two copies doesn’t sound a lot when all copies of the Special and Limited editions sold out but it amounts to 20% of the sales on a short run like this and puts a bigger hole than you might imagine in the accounts.