One of the biggest carp in the UK banked at 62lb 4oz

One of the biggest carp in the UK has been landed by Matt Bryant in the shape of this huge 62lb 4oz mirror known as The Parrot.

The colossal specimen resides in the Cranwells Lake syndicate water on the Wasing Estate in Berkshire and was landed in the early hours of the morning by the 25-year-old police officer.

Arriving to be greeted by a strong, cold northerly wind he was surprised to find several fish showing in just three foot of water.

He wasted no time getting a hookbait among them but also decided to err on the side of caution and positioned another hookbait, consisting of a double 15mm Mainline Baits Cell bottom bait, in a deeper 8ft gulley close to an island.

It proved to be a wise move as it was this rod that produced a bite at 2am. “The fight was fairly uneventful and when I saw it coming towards me in the light of my headtorch I thought it was a forty known as Floppy Tail,” he said. “When I looked in the net I realised it was far too big and could only be The Parrot.”

Matt, who has been a member of the syndicate for 10 years, added: “The fish appears to be starting to put a bit of weight on again this year. It will be interesting to see what it does over the next few seasons as it could well get close to breaking the British record.”

The Parrot first broke the 60lb-barrier in October 2011 but is usually caught around the upper-fifty mark. The current British carp record is held by Oz Holness who landed Two Tone at a weight of 67lb 14oz in 2008.