anglersmail.com 9 JULY | 5missus, Marion, telling her:
‘You must see this. I’ve never
seen one this big in the fl esh.’
“We managed to lift it onto
the cradle, then attempted to
weigh it, before taking a few
quick photos.
“As my scales only go to
66 lb, I was unable to get an
accurate weight, and I wanted
to get this epic creature back
safely, without delay. Waving
to her as she swam back into
this majestic river is the best
holiday memory I’ll ever have,”
he added.
“My tackle included a 10 ft
3 lb t.c. rod, a free-spool reel,
an extra-strong size 6 hook
and a 3.5 oz in-line lead.
“The Lot is an amazing
river, and I went to different
stretches last year. I’ve
gawped at immense carp,
catfi sh and zander caught by
'Gentleman' Jim Lightfoot, a
Brit abroad, who runs a rental
further down the Lot.
“Before I die, I’d love to
explore loads more of the
South West region’s many
stunning waters.”
The biggest carp from the
Lot is believed to be a 76 lb
common, now dead. The
heaviest river carp known to
a British angler, according to
reliable sources, is a 77 lb
common from the Ebro,
caught in Spain in 2013.
If you know better, please
drop a line by email to:
[email protected]A
NGLER’S MAIL front cover
star Mat Faulkner has
obliterated the three-spined
stickleback record with this 9 g
(5.0794 dr) mini marvel.
It smashed the offi cial British
record of 4 dr, set by mini
species ace Dennis Flack with
a fi sh caught from High Flyer
Lake, in Cambridgeshire, way
back in 1998.
Mat didn’t realise the
signifi cance of the fi sh until his
pal, Jack Perks, pointed out that
the fi sh was a whopper.
Nottingham-based Mat
explained: “I was fl oat fi shing
maggots on one of my local
ponds.
“I have caught them this
size before, but it was Jack that
pointed out the signifi cance of
the size when I showed it to him.
“I knew it was big, but he
suggested that I weigh it.
“I popped home to fetch my
kitchen scales, and it came in at
9 g, which is just a little heavier
than a £1 coin.
“I’ll look to claim an offi cial
record,” added Mat, a general
manager at MF Aquatics.The three-spined is one of
three UK stickleback species,
and award-winning underwater
fi lm-maker Jack now hopes to
capture this record fi sh in its
natural environment.
Jack revealed: “I was fi shing
for carp with a fl y rod at the
time.
“I’m sure there are bigger
ones in there, as this was a
spawned-out female, and she
would have been heavier a
couple of weeks ago.
“Sadly, the water is very
murky, but it does clear up in
winter, so maybe I’ll chuck a
camera in then, to see if I can
fi nd one that’s even bigger.
“I love sticklebacks, and that’s
the reason why I’ve got one on
the front of my book, Freshwater
Fishes of Britain.
“I think most anglers will have
caught sticklebacks in jam jars
and nets.
“The stickleback I fi lmed
for Springwatch was given the
name Spineless Si, though he’s
dwarfed by this one, which I’m
calling Spiny Spartacus.
“The smallest freshwatere ditor
● New British best ● Three-spined species ● Float fi shed maggot
eco
ssd
fi sh in Britain is the nine-spined
stickleback, which reaches only
a couple of centimetres, and
there are good numbers of them
in my local River Trent.
“Then there’s the 15-spined
stickleback, which is a marine
species and grows up to 25 cm
in length,” concluded Jack.Best British ’back – Mat
Faulkner has smashed
the three-spined
stickleback record with
Stickleback this 9 g specimen.record
smashed
Stickleback
record
smashed
It’s a record! These scales were
amply big enough, and have
minute units, too.Mat fi shing the Nottingham pond
from where he caught the
super-sized stickleback.The ‘incredible bulk’ pulled
Tim’s 66 lb digital scales to
their limit before it was even
lifted off the support of an
extra-large carp cradle.Off she goes. Tim releases the
huge French river carp.