Record crucian carp! - Will it be claimed?
MOST anglers pit their wits against perch, pike or chub in December but not Matthew Wright, who fished through freezing 30mph winds and heavy downpours to slip his net under a potential new British record crucian at 4lb 11oz.
Matthew Wright’s potential new British record crucian carp
The fine specimen was the larger of two 4lb-plus fish taken by the 37-year-old during an overnight stay on a Surrey stillwater – where the terrible conditions at one point left him questioning his sanity… and clinging to his bivvy!
Reassurance that he’d made the right decision targeting the quintessential summer species finally came at 11.30pm, when a positive run resulted in a 4lb 4oz stunner that smashed his 3lb 9oz PB.
This 4lb 4oz crucian also found its way to Matthew’s net
But before he even had chance to bask in the glory of his achievement, an even larger fish tore off with his hookbait.
“At first I thought it was a carp, but then I felt the tell-tale nodding on the rod-tip, and when the fish surfaced in the beam of my headtorch I caught sight of the flank of a gigantic crucian,” Matthew said.
“As I guided it in, I just kept saying ‘oh my God, don’t fall off’, and I was shaking like mad when it finally went over the net cord – the size of the fish was just ridiculous.”
Matthew weighed the crucian three times on his Reuben Heaton digital scales in the presence of three other anglers, each time registering a weight of 4lb 11oz.
Despite making the Angling Trust aware of his catch, Matthew – who works as a fishery bailiff – remains unsure about whether he will yet submit a claim to the British Record Fish Committee, and said he was just happy knowing he’d caught a potential record.
He added:
“A lot of the credit goes to my missus, who finally gave me permission to go fishing after a couple of months of helping to look after our newborn baby!
“For 30 years I’ve targeted crucians and have caught them in -3°C before, but I never ever expected to break my personal best twice in a single December session.”
Both Matthew’s crucians fell to Method feeders and double fake caster hookbaits fished over a bed of hemp and mixed 3mm pellets at 30 yards range.
Huge crucian just 3oz off the record!
A 48-HOUR session in search of a giant crucian ended with this near-record specimen of 4lb 8oz for Richard Bedder.
The Norfolk police officer travelled three hours from his home to fish a southern stillwater in the hope of catching a new personal best, but he had no idea he’d obliterate his target three times during the visit.
“On the first morning I achieved my goal and banked a new crucian best of 3lb, in addition to a 25lb carp,” he told us.
“The second morning saw a few small tench come to the net before a cracking 3lb 10oz crucian put in an appearance.
“I was elated with the second PB but just 20 minutes after that I received yet another bite and slipped my net under this true fish-of-a-lifetime weighing 4lb 8oz!
“Needless to say I drove the long journey home with a big smile on my face.”
All Richard’s fish fell to Sonubaits hookable pellets fished in conjunction with a Method feeder and groundbait.
Richard Bedder’s 4lb 8oz crucian, just 3oz off the record
Three-hour drive for PB crucian
A THREE-HOUR drive to a southern stillwater paid off for Joe Coleman when he caught a PB 4lb 3oz crucian.
The Norfolk specialist fished Method feeders and fake caster hookbaits.
“At 8am on day two a thick band of fog came over the lake,” he said.
“Within minutes I’d had my first bite from the 4lb 3oz fish, later backed by up specimens of 3lb 8oz and 3lb 13oz. Result!”
Joe Coleman 4lb 3oz crucian
Hectic crucian session ends with stunning brace - Matt Fernandez
“Arriving at the lake I saw it was very busy, but there were a few swims free on a bank that I fancied. After a run of crucians to 3lb 9oz, the big fish turned up!
“I had a few anglers in the swim for a bit of socially-distanced banter when one of the rods ripped off, resulting in a 3lb 15oz fish. Shortly after, the other rod buckled and a stunning crucian of 4lb exactly was soon in the net. Then, while doing the brace shot, I had another take, this time from a fish of 3lb 15oz!
“The lads were as amazed as I was, and I was so overwhelmed by it that I packed up early and went home to the wife and kids.”
Matt Fernandez and his stunning brace. A 4lb crucian and a 3lb 15oz fish
Three 3lb-plus crucians hit the net in frantic feeding spell - James Howes
“It’s a 300-mile round trip to the southern club lake I’m a member of, so I set off from my Norfolk home at 1.30am to get there for first light.
“My target was crucians, but with extreme temperatures forecast for the day I was a bit apprehensive. Luckily the heat didn’t put the fish off feeding!
“After finding a swim I was happy with, I baited it with six Spombs of groundbait, hemp and pellets before casting Method feeders over the top with fake caster hookbaits.
“I had to wait until 11am for my first take, but it was a good fish at 3lb 8oz.
“Knowing that bites come thick and fast on that water I quickly unhooked the crucian in the net then recast my rod.
“Before I’d even got the camera sorted my rod was away again!
“This one looked bigger, but before weighing it I repeated the process as before and cast the rod back out.
“While playing with my camera’s settings I had yet another take and crucian number three found its way into the net.
“I thought the second and third crucians could’ve weighed 4lb but on the scales they both registered the same weight at 3lb 13oz.
“I did have a fourth take at around 1.30pm which resulted in a 2lb 8oz fish, but that was the last of the action as temperatures rose to 34°C!”
James Howes and his brace of 3lb 13oz crucians
Stunning 15lb haul of crucians topped by new PB - Richard Naylor
“I arrived at my syndicate at midnight and set up camp behind a couple of carp rods. As a parent, I have to make the most of every opportunity to fish, so after a productive night’s carping, although a little bleary-eyed, I moved swims at 8am. I rigged up my float rod and proceeded to cast my swan-quill slider float into a new lily-laden area on a quest for crucians!
“I fished breadflake on a size 16 hook, dead on the bottom and very tight to the lilies and trickled in tiny balls of Dynamite’s Red Krill Swim Stim groundbait. Sure enough, those archetypal pin-prick bubbles eventually erupted around my float.
“Each time I recast I pulled the float into position in the epicentre of the ensuing fizz.
“This resulted in a succession of confident bites, leading me to bank eight crucians within two hours!
“Each spiralled valiantly into the depths while, with bated breath, I carefully thumbed the rim of my centrepin to prevent them reaching sanctuary in the snags.
“The net, weighing 15lb 6oz, featured two fish over 2lb to a PB-equalling fish of 2lb 8oz, with all the others going just under.
These beautiful crucians seemed to shine in the net
“Furthermore, these beauties seemed to shine in the net, such was their radiance. This catch is one that I will certainly never forget!”
Richard Naylor – crucian haul of 15lb 6oz
Morning crucian haul topped by 4lb-plus specimen
A MORNING spent targeting crucians ended in the best fashion for Matt Fernandez when he slipped his net under a 4lb 3oz pb.
It was the pick of the bunch for the Southampton specialist, who also landed six other crucians over 3lb during his visit to Johnsons Lake in Surrey.
He told us:
“The 4lb 3oz fish beat my previous best by 1oz and I drove home a very happy angler indeed!”
Matthew Fernandez – 4lb 3oz crucian.
British Record Crucian Carp - The Full Story
A CARP angler has etched his name into the annals of angling history after slipping his net under a new British record crucian weighing 4lb 11oz.
The stocky specimen, which pips the previous record for the species by just 1oz, fell to Craig Smithson during a 48-hour stay on Dorset’s Milton Abbas syndicate lake.
Craig Smithson holds aloft a fish that looks set to be the new British record Crucian Carp
In an attempt to lure one of the lake’s resident carp, the 39-year-old fished a red 15mm fishmeal pop-up next to a lily bed that he’d baited with chopped 18mm boilies and pellets.
By the time dawn broke on the final morning of his session, Craig only had a tench to show for his efforts, but his fortunes took an unexpected twist at 9.30am when one of his rods signalled a twitchy take.
“The bobbin danced up and down so I just thought it was another tench,” Craig tells us.
“After picking up the rod, I wound down until I felt resistance, then started to draw the fish to the bank. It didn’t put up much of a fight but when I saw the golden flanks of a giant crucian in the edge rather than a bright green tench, I just stared at it in shock, before the panic set in.
“I scrabbled along the bank to get my net and quickly scooped it up as soon as I could.
“As I gazed down the crucian just seemed to get bigger and bigger and I was slowly realising the magnitude of what I’d caught.”
The crucian was nearly 40cm in length and 21cm wide
While resting his prize in the margins Craig rang the fishery’s owner, Wayne Little, who rushed down to the bank with his own set of scales.
By this point, three other syndicate members had also arrived on the scene to witness the weighing, measuring and photographing of the new British best.
“In the end we weighed the crucian five times on three sets of Reuben Heaton scales and each registered a matching weight of 4lb 11oz,” Craig adds.
“I was just in complete awe and trying to soak up the fact that I was holding angling history in my hands.
“To catch something that’s the biggest in the country, by design or not, is the ultimate angling achievement in my opinion, so I’m just mega pleased it’s happened to me.”
Craig has submitted a claim to the British Record Fish Committee (BRFC), to which he has already posted a set of the Reuben Heaton scales used to weigh the crucian so that they can be tested for accuracy.
A list of the witnesses’ names and their contact details, in addition to two scale samples taken from the fish, have also been provided to the BRFC to help bolster the claim and prove that the crucian is a true strain and not a hybrid.
“If the crucian is accepted as a new record then fantastic, but if it isn’t then it won’t be the end of the world,” Craig adds.
“It was just fantastic to see this fish in the flesh.”
Craig’s groundbreaking capture will come as a shock to some, but not to Milton Abbas owner Wayne Little, who says it was only a matter of time before his eight-acre lake produced a record-beating crucian.
He said:
“Around 20 years ago we stocked probably 1,500 crucians and from what I can gather there are only around 20 to 30 left, but they’re all of specimen size now.
“Last season the lake produced fish of 3lb 15oz and 4lb for one of our members, and two years ago a crucian that looked much larger than Craig’s fish was discovered in a routine netting – so I knew we wouldn’t have to wait long to see a really special one on the bank. I’m made up for Craig.”
Milton Abbas is now home to record Crucian Carp
Was a second record crucian banked last week?
CRAIG Smithson’s 4lb 11oz specimen wasn’t the only British Record-contending specimen to be recorded last week as fellow carp angler Alec Dodsworth proved with the capture of this giant!
The 37-year-old was coming to the end of a three-night-stay on a midlands stillwater when he hooked into the crucian on a snowman rig fished over a bed of chopped worm and maggots.
Alec, who’s from Wigan, landed and weighed the fish in the early hours of the morning but admitted that his scales were too big to get an accurate reading of his catch.
He said:
“My Reubens are rated to 120lb so ounces don’t register very well in the lower numbers, although the needle was bouncing around between 4lb 8oz and 4lb 12oz.
“It was very early in the morning so I didn’t fancy ringing someone to bring accurate scales, and I was worried of having such a big crucian out of the water for so long, so I just took a few snaps and slipped it back.
“There’s quite a few pike in this water too and I’d already lost around 60 yards of line from pike biting through my lines as they swam close to the bank.
“if I’d sacked that crucian up In the margin and a pike had attacked it and damaged it I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself.
“Just to have held a crucian of that size is more than enough for me.”
Alec’s superb catch beats his previous 1lb personal best for the species and admitted he’d go back to the water and try and target them by design.
“Catching this crucian really gave me the buzz to target different species other than carp again, so I’m looking forward to going back and seeing if I can catch an even bigger one!”
Alec Dodsworth’s giant crucian weighed between 4lb 8oz and 4lb 12oz
Tiny bait just the trick for a big crucian
A TINY dumbell wafter hookbait has accounted for one of the biggest reported crucians of the season.
The fine fish weighed 4lb 2oz and fell to the rod of appropriately named Jason Rodd, who travelled 160 miles from his Staffordshire home to target Surrey’s prolific Johnson’s Lake.
He told us:
“I struck and connected with a decent fish which fought doggedly. It had such a huge frame – heaven knows what it would have weighed had it been full of spawn.”
Jason Rodd and his 4lb 2oz Crucian Carp
Phenomenal haul of 3lb-plus crucians
THERE aren’t many places where you can go and catch a 3lb-plus crucian carp these days, so how about catching 17 in a session? That is exactly what Julian Barnes did on a recent trip to the famous Johnsons Lake on the Godalming AC ticket.
Julian’s dream crucian session lasted 23 hours, which resulted in him netting 41 gold bars, with 17 over 3lb and a new personal best of 3lb 10oz.
He told Angling Times:
“I was met with ideal conditions when I arrived at the venue.
“It was warm and cloudy, with a south-westerly wind, and I got the swim I wanted with the breeze blowing into it and a big weedbed to my left.
“Catching a new PB was very pleasing, but I was anxious to make the most of the hectic feeding spell and had my fingers crossed for a four-pounder. Hopefully I’ll get one next time!”
Julian’s phenomenal haul fell to Method feeder tactics, with regular casting required to keep bait in the swim.
Julian Barnes with his PB 3lb 10oz crucian
"I’m so glad I didn’t wait for warmer weather to start my crucian campaign" - Scott Poulter
“I’m an angler who fishes for a variety of coarse species, and I’ve learned from some big-name carp anglers that if you do the same thing as everyone else, realistically your results are likely to be the same as everyone else’s too.
That’s always struck a chord with me so, with that said, I decided to resume my crucian fishing a little earlier than usual this year with a couple of short evening trips after work. I felt that after a mild winter there might be a chance they could switch on early, so I decided that rather than spend the last weekend of the traditional season chasing dace on the river, I would target the crucians at my local lake in Surrey.
Sadly my first trip was a blank, but on March 14 I returned and had a change of fortune. My tactics were relatively simple – I fished Method feeders to a spot just shy of 30 yards. A lot of guys on this water Spomb beds of bait out and I have done this myself in the past, but given the early start to my crucian campaign I didn’t want to overfeed them, so I just recast my feeders every 30-40 minutes to keep bait going in. This was made up of Dynamite Baits Swim Stim groundbait mixed with CC Moore Tuna L030 liquid and mini pellets. My hookbaits were critically-balanced white, fake casters.
Straight away I had a 2lb 12oz crucian but the best came just after last light. The bobbin on my alarm rose again and I struck into something that felt heavy from the off, but the fight didn’t have the speed or power of a tench.
The fight was fairly undramatic, but as I drew it over the net I got really excited as I was hopeful this one was the high side of 4lb. When my scales read 4lb 3oz I was like a dog with two tails! It was a new personal best by a mile!
I’m so glad I didn’t wait for warmer weather to start my crucian campaign. It just shows that if you’re curious about something, give it a go. You could just catch the fish of a lifetime.”
Club just a few years away from a record crucian
OFFICIALS behind an angling club in Wales believe they’re just a few years away from producing a new British record crucian. Around 40 fish weighing 2lb-3lb were discovered as members netted its flagship pleasure water.
Rosie Pool, in Flintshire, has long been the jewel in the crown of Connah’s Quay & District Angling Club. Five years ago it was stocked with hundreds of baby crucians in a drive to transform the lake into a premium fishery for the species.
With the help of an extensive conservation project it’s now clear that the crucians have thrived – maintaining a superb average weight per fish.
Connah’s Quay treasurer James Davies assisted with the netting of the lake and said:
“It’s absolutely fantastic to see how well the crucians have developed over the years.
“A large slice of the credit has to go to Andrew Ellis and his team from AE Fisheries.
“Andrew has assisted in the project from the start and taught us how to turn Rosie Pool into an environment where crucians and tench can thrive.
“We increased the habitat for the crucians with the introduction of lily pads, and have even removed certain fish such as goldfish and smaller fry. This is to ensure that there is no cross breeding and helps bring the biomass of the lake down.
“The result is that we now have a lake full of genuine crucians of quality size. They are even spawning, as a good number of smaller crucians were also found. “The Welsh crucian record sits at 2lb 12oz and I know we already have fish of that size in Rosie Pool, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a British record will be living here in the near future!”
Visit Rosie Pool
ADULT annual membership of Connah’s Quay & District AC is £35, and day tickets can be purchased for £5 in advance from the Wepre Park visitor centre. For more information, including the lake’s location, visit www.connahsquayanglingclub.com