ROY LEWIS: 46lb 13oz Llandegfedd Pike
7BRITAIN’S biggest pike ever landed is a fish weighing 46lb 13oz, and it’s an incredible recordbreaking catch that’s remained unchallenged for 24 years.
Roy Lewis made history in October 1992 when he won the battle with the huge predator during his debut session at the famous Llandegfedd Reservoir in South Wales.
Just 15 minutes after leaving the shore, it was a lure that the Middlesex angler ‘threw into his tackle box at the last minute’ that was responsible for the aggressive take that saw the fish dive beneath the boat from which he and his fishing partner Terry Stiles were fishing.
“It was a short fish and as fat as a pig – it had a simply enormous girth,” recalled Roy.
“We physically struggled to get it into the boat and I think it was then that we both realised that the fish was something special.”
The drama continued when it came to weighing the monster. A local farmer saved the day when he drove to the rescue in his JCB with a set of farm scales.
The vast venue in Pontypool first hit the headlines in 1988 when it allowed pike fishing for the first time and produced four fish over the magical 40lb mark.
Over the next few years Llandegfedd produced two British records for the species – the first falling to rugby star Gareth Edwards in 1989 at 45lb 6oz, followed by Roy’s 46lb 13oz fish in 1992.