The rarest fish you've caught?

[Aknib]

Another thread inspired by another thread, keep 'em coming and keep us all busy

Back around the late 90's I was just getting back into general fishing, having concentrated purely on Pike for a few years, and I was on the Trent at Newark trotting a light float rig along for whatever came around.

I'd been there since dawn on a September morning and during the day I reckon I'd scoured a fair bit of gravel around with my feet as I'd been stood in the water all day and things were making the most of it.

I had another small fish around mid-afternoon, can't remember what it was, then unhooked it and threw the rig back in along with chewed maggot still on the hook, at my feet whilst I did whatever it was I was going to do.

When I picked up the rod I had that doink doink feeling and the line darted around in several different directions before I lifted out...

A Stone Loach!

The only one I've ever caught and it was a handsome little thing.

So, what's the rarest fish you've ever caught, and how did it come about?

Coarse, game or sea?

 

[mikench]

Aged 11 or 12 and whilst fishing on the Leeds Liverpool canal , i caught a fish I didn't recognise. It was close to a warm water outflow pipe and I later learned from an angler friend of my dad ,that it was probably a cichlid. I , later in my teenage years, kept tropical fish( as I do now) and The cichlids i saw at the aquarium shop certainly looked like it. Apparently people released their unwanted fish into the canal at this point and they thrived.

 

[d.owens]

Aged 11 or 12 and whilst fishing on the Leeds Liverpool canal , i caught a fish I didn't recognise. It was close to a warm water outflow pipe and I later learned from an angler friend of my dad ,that it was probably a cichlid. I , later in my teenage years, kept tropical fish( as I do now) and The cichlids i saw at the aquarium shop certainly looked it. Apparently people released their unwanted fish into the canal at this point and they thrived.

I used to fish the canal by Tate & Lyles, rumour had it that the water was warmed by the factory and there were all kinds of tropical fish there. Always wanted to pull some exotic beast out with a worm out the garden on my size 16 hook. All I ever got was eels, perch and tiny jack pike.
Now feel very boring, I'll get me coat!

 

[108831]

I too would say stone loach,though I have caught quite a few(17 in one session),but not more than 27,all caught in a short,stony bottomed part of the grand union canal after dark,floatfishing maggot in torchlight,though ive probably caught a similar number of bullheads,but on several rivers around the country,so they dont seem so rare.

 

[barbelboi]

Probably this - can't remember catching one smaller.................

 

[ian g]

I love catching small tench and barbel , though obviously not at the same time . Can't remember the last time I saw a bullhead , my brother and I used to use them as live bait while trout fishing.

 

[bullet]

Probably a Twaite Shad or Allis Shad, not sure which, that I caught on float whilst Mackerel fishing....
Or possibly a Barbel caught on a Devon river

 

[S-Kippy]

Twaite shad. Me and the BF were on the Wye at Builth Wells trying to catch a salmon. Sadly....I think the nearest salmon was at Chepstow but the river was full of shad. You could still legally fish for them then so we scaled down to trout gear and had a splendid time catching them. Tiny goldhead nymphs were the killing fly,bait wasn't allowed.

I've had the odd stone loach but many,many years ago.

 

[xenon]

At the moment, that would be anything at all...

 

[Aknib]

the river was full of shad. You could still legally fish for them

Exclaimed Mr James but the jury were having none of it

 

[Keith M]

I caught a Guppy from the grand union Canal at the old ovaltine stretch at Kings Langley back in the 70s.

Ive yet to catch a Zander and I’ve only caught two tiny Wels catfish of 8.5lb and 2lb

Keith

 

[no-one in particular]

I cant think of a rare fish in fresh water or at least never caught any of the rarer ones so it will have to be a sea fish, a red mullet. They occur here but the only one I have ever seen caught. I gave it to a marine aquarium that just happened to be opposite were I was fishing and they put in one of their big tanks.

 

[Philip]

Good idea for a thread. I suppose you can look at it two ways..rare fish, or fish rare in a water.

I have had a few rare for the water fish but in terms of just plain "rare" I caught this from the Seine. I have posted it before as I was not actually sure what it is ..at first glance I thought it was a big Rudd but on closer inspection I think it was a Hybrid with best guess being Rudd / Orfe. I dont know if there are any examples of those two interbreeding. Whatever it was I suspect it was quite a rare variation. .

 

[john step]

I caught a shad about 1lb from the Tidal Thames at Richmond in the 70s ( dont know which type)
I caught a chub/bream hybrid about 4lb from the Ancholme about 2004. Quite rare I have read.

 

[Mark Wintle]

This thread has finally enabled me to identify a fish I caught back in 2007! I visited a local water and caught a fish that thwarted me in the id stakes. It looked like a hybrid but like no other. About the same time I was also having problems with some of the F1s/goldfish from the same water. They turned out to be gibel carp which meant a consignment of fish from abroad. That was the clue that my mystery hybrid might be an incomer and some careful checking has revealed that I caught a 'vimba' that day.

The golden rudd shown above is just that, a rudd. As for chub x bream, that combination doesn't seem to work (Colin Pitt thesis) so might have been something else??????????

Vimba

 

[rayner]

I've never caught anything rare or exotic, Lately though I've been thinking of fishing for a Lion head from my fish tank. Only a small fish but would be a first for me. I resisted things can never get that bad.

 

[d.owens]

I've never caught anything rare or exotic, Lately though I've been thinking of fishing for a Lion head from my fish tank. Only a small fish but would be a first for me. I resisted things can never get that bad.

Hope your going to set a bivvy up and at least 3 rods in the living room for this?

 

[stillwater blue]

I've caught a handful of Nase from a french river,


I think it's a roach/rudd hybrid, I'm not sure how rare they are but I've only ever caught one.


Lastly a barbel, not exactly rare but the only one I've ever caught on a lure

 

[Aknib]

Hope your going to set a bivvy up and at least 3 rods in the living room for this?

Many a true word said in jest mate, I've just settled down for a nice afternoon session.

Not decided what I'm after yet but reckon it might be Roach with an outside chance of an early Crucian...

closest e85 gas station to my location

mg:

 

[d.owens]

Many a true word said in jest mate, I've just settled down for a nice afternoon session.

Not decided what I'm after yet but reckon it might be Roach with an outside chance of an early Crucian...

closest e85 gas station to my location

mg:

Looking forward to seeing your post in the HDYGO thread later.