Common carp record broken at 88lb 7oz

The common carp world record has been broken with the capture of this colossal 88lb 7oz specimen from a gravel pit in Germany.

Landed by big-carp supremo Markus Pelzer, it is, incredibly, the second 80lb-plus common the boss of Pelzer Baits has caught in the last month.

Targeting a spot 50yds along the margin, Markus baited the area with 2.5kg of his company’s 12mm MCS boilies and offered matching hookbaits tipped with tutti-frutti pop-ups over the top.

Following an uneventful night, he received a fast take mid-morning, and after a powerful scrap, during which he was weeded up on a couple of occasions, he slipped his prize into the net. “It wasn’t until I pulled back the mesh that I realised how big it was,” he told Angling Times. “It could only be one fish ¬ Mary, the queen of the lake.”