personal best doesn`t mean the best fish that i have caught,i call the heaviest of each species that i have caught personal bests,in weight terms,not looks or condition etc.in my opinion,far too many anglers rate fish by their weight rather than size,looks or condition.
the angling press must take some of the the blame for this,for example,if someone ever caught a pike from a trout water that was heavier than the present record,they would be saying that it was the "biggest" pike ever caught from britain,it would probably be around 45 inches in length and very fat with a small head.neville ficklings thurne record of 41lbs was,i believe,49 inches in length with a head to match,it weighed less because it was carrying a lot less fat ,that to me is a bigger fish,even though it weighs less.