Dad, I think we’re going to need a bigger bowl!
‘Smiling from ear to ear’
WEIGHING the same as a chihuahua, this orange monster is the biggest goldfish ever caught in Britain.
But this 5lb 4oz beast was not caught by a seasoned fisherman – it was hooked by ten-year-old Lois Chilvers during a fishing trip with her father Gary.
The schoolgirl’s mighty catch is 4oz heavier than the country’s last biggest goldfish, reeled in from a lake in Poole, Dorset, in 2010.
It was a successful night for the youngster, who also caught another huge goldfish, weighing 4lb 5oz. The fish were caught at Chase Lakes in Dagenham, Essex and experts believe they must have been dumped in the lake some years ago after outgrowing their tanks. They are usually found on fairground stalls or garden ponds, but have been known to thrive when left to fend for themselves in the wild. It is thought Lois’s catch, which was reeled in at night and placed back in the water after photographs were taken, is the biggest in the UK.
The young angler, who started fishing at four is no stranger to a decent catch, but this orange specimen is comfortably the best so far.
Her father, from Barking, East London, said yesterday: ‘It was only after we returned that we found Lois’s catch was a record for the UK. She is absolutely mad on her fishing and we were smiling from ear to ear when we found out. Fishing runs in the family and Lois has inherited the passion.’
The previous biggest goldfish, Latin name Carassius auratus auratus, was caught by 16-year- old Nick Richards in 2010.