lightdragoon
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Let's say commercial fisheries didn't exist and all carp were truly wild, would they get as big as some of the monsters we see caught today?
How big can carp get naturally?
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sam vimes
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Much depends on what you mean by and how you define "naturally". Fish in rivers such as the Ebro, North African lakes/reservoirs, the Great Lakes of North America etc etc are definitely not commercial lakes, yet carp are achieving huge weights. The snag with this is that although they are wild fish, in wild waters, they aren't really from the original wild strains. Genuine wild strains of carp are now virtually non-existent outside of Eastern Europe.
As far as the UK is concerned, I doubt that too many carp could exceed 50lb without being in a well fed commercial fishery or other carefully managed water. However, there are (as close to wild as possible) carp in unmanaged (from the point of extra feeding to maximise growth) UK waters, such as rivers and canals, that are regularly attaining weights well in excess of 40lb. Naturally, that kind of weight dwindles the further north in the UK you go.
As far as the UK is concerned, I doubt that too many carp could exceed 50lb without being in a well fed commercial fishery or other carefully managed water. However, there are (as close to wild as possible) carp in unmanaged (from the point of extra feeding to maximise growth) UK waters, such as rivers and canals, that are regularly attaining weights well in excess of 40lb. Naturally, that kind of weight dwindles the further north in the UK you go.
barbelboi
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I believe that a 44 came out of a very lightly fished natural pool in 1952..................
Tee-Cee
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Do we know who caught it....................or did the 'name' die with an ex FM member......
Haven't heard it mentioned for some time...
Haven't heard it mentioned for some time...
barbelboi
Well-known member
Haven't got a clue Tony but I believe it was the first named carp.....
peter crabtree
AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)
Nobody knows, that's fishing innit.. ?
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Look at this way (my way), the bigger they are, the more fertilizer they make.
lightdragoon
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When I fly fished exclusively I use to look at carp as the most ugly of all fish, but now my favourite way to fish is waiting in a comfy chair for the bite alarms to go, just hoping there is one beautiful common on the end. My goal is to get something over 20.
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smufter
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A nice Common is indeed a lovely looking fish.
But the vast majority of Mirrors caught are ugly, fat and bloated.
Admittedly there are some beautiful Mirrors, wood carvings, but these tend to be few and far between.
Despite the bragging rights, I wouldn't want to catch one of the big fat gutbuckets that make the papers.
If you go back to the original Leney stocking of Galacian Carp in 1934 those fish were stocked between 5 and 8 inches long.
In 1951 Bob Richards landed a mirror fish at 31lbs 4oz. Now remember this was well before hi-val baits and pellet.
Then on September 13 1952 "Ravioli" was landed at 44lbs, which I consider to be the last of the big Carp taken on a "natural" bait. The fish was later called Clarissa when in London Zoo.
The captor was, Shush-you-know-who
As of around 2012 there was a known surviving fish from the 34' Leney stocking still in Redmire that was at least 70 years old.
Fast forward to 1980 and a Leney giant - a 51lb 8oz linear- was caught by Chris Yates, but this was in the "boilie" era.
So, I would think that on a natural diet then the 44lbs figure is about the expected peak, although there have been much larger Carp caught in the UK up to and including the Rob Marsh 60lbs 6oz Mirror Carp know as "Big Girl"
In 1951 Bob Richards landed a mirror fish at 31lbs 4oz. Now remember this was well before hi-val baits and pellet.
Then on September 13 1952 "Ravioli" was landed at 44lbs, which I consider to be the last of the big Carp taken on a "natural" bait. The fish was later called Clarissa when in London Zoo.
The captor was, Shush-you-know-who
As of around 2012 there was a known surviving fish from the 34' Leney stocking still in Redmire that was at least 70 years old.
Fast forward to 1980 and a Leney giant - a 51lb 8oz linear- was caught by Chris Yates, but this was in the "boilie" era.
So, I would think that on a natural diet then the 44lbs figure is about the expected peak, although there have been much larger Carp caught in the UK up to and including the Rob Marsh 60lbs 6oz Mirror Carp know as "Big Girl"
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barbelboi
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A bit of useless information - since, and including, Bob Richard's 'unnamed' record fish in 1951 all the fish holding the record have died prior to the new record fish being caught.................
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Tee-Cee
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So what about the '80lb +@ fish 'seen' in Redmire by Jack Hilton (among others)? From what I've read of the man he doesn't seem the type to exaggerate and although the single (?) photograph is less than clear it does suggest, repeat, suggest a bigger fish possibly existed back in those heady days....
Yes, I know it was never caught and it could've been two fish, one behind the other etc etc but it does make you wonder.....
Didn't Yates see it as well?
Mind you, having stood on the Dam wall at Redmire it's absolutely amazing to think a 44/51 lb fish could have lived in such a water so maybe not out of the question a bigger fish existed?
Yes, I know it was never caught and it could've been two fish, one behind the other etc etc but it does make you wonder.....
Didn't Yates see it as well?
Mind you, having stood on the Dam wall at Redmire it's absolutely amazing to think a 44/51 lb fish could have lived in such a water so maybe not out of the question a bigger fish existed?
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