EXPERTS’ REACTION TO THE DECISION...
EXISTING BRITISH CARP RECORD HOLDER, DEAN FLETCHER
“It’s a thorny issue, and I realise that carp fishing has changed so much over the past 20 years and that these big fish are increasingly commonplace, but I have to say I agree with the decision. I’ll be honest and say that I thought they were going to give his one, but I’m glad that they haven’t, because it just doesn’t feel right. Each to their own, and I have nothing against those anglers who want to target these fish, but it’s just not my cup of tea.”
WELL-KNOWN BIG CARP ANGLER ADAM PENNING
“I’m relieved, and think we should be working towards preserving the heritage of the record lists for as long as possible. “Had this fish been accepted, the record list would have been rendered utterly meaningless by people who have a total disregard for the history of the sport. I don’t have any issue with people who want to go and target these carp, but I can’t help thinking that they devalue the achievements of previous captures, and captors. It’s a false achievement, if you like. “In the higher echelons of any sport, the ‘pinnacle’ achievements need to be earned, through time and dedication, not laid on a plate for them.”
CARP TEAM ENGLAND MANAGER ROB HUGHES
“The record list should be exactly that – a ‘paper’ record of the biggest carp caught in this country. Was it caught on rod and line? Was in caught in Britain? Was it weighed correctly? If the answer to those three questions is yes, then it should be a record.
“What if a ‘British’ 40lb fish was moved from one water to another 200 miles away, before growing another 30lb over the following decade. Would that then not be a record?
“This decision effectively opens up just about all of the previous record carp to question. Take perhaps the most revered record of them all – ‘Mary’ (caught at a record weight of 56lb in 1996). That fish was moved from another lake into Wraysbury, but at what weight? Over 25 per cent of its final ‘record’ weight?
“We can’t start entertaining this ‘subjective’ view of credibility from the BRFC, because what’s credible to one man will not be to another. The public give the credibility, not the BRFC, they should just deal with records. And as for the BRFC’s comment about the 150kg of pellets that the fishery is supposed to have fed the lake with each week – that’s just a ridiculous thing to say. Take a busy runs water in the UK, with 50 anglers on for two nights. In high season, each angler might introduce 10kg of pellets, boilies etc bait per day. That’s 1000kg of bait in just two days, and that’s deemed OK.”
CAPTOR OF CAPTAIN JACK VINNY PARKER
“This was always an exercise to try to get the rules surrounding record fish clarified, but the BRFC still don’t seem to have done that, and that’s the disappointing thing.
“This was their chance to say that record fish have to be bred in this country, which I suppose they have said, and that they have to be stocked at less than 10lb, less than 20lb, or a certain percentage of the record, but they haven’t.
“I know it’s a controversial fish and I wasn’t overly concerned about the record one way or the other, but it was an opportunity to get some rules in place. That’s what it needs, or the carp record will go the way of the catfish record and the trout record.”