In what has been a somewhat unbelievable year for specimen fish captures, the British Record Fish Committee (BRFC) met at The Natural History Museum, London, on 14th June 2024 to discuss certain 'record breaking' submissions they had received.
It was agreed that there were to be three new British records for coarse species, including Steve Ricketts' 11lb 3oz eel, a 143lb 14oz catfish caught by Darren Reitz, and a joint record for a 4lb 3oz roach, shared between anglers Dai Gribble and Keith Berry. This, added to the enormous 47lb 5oz pike landed at Chew Valley by Lloyd Watson, means that four records have fallen in the first six months of 2024, making it a historic year for big-fish captures.
One of the most impressive captures of the year was theeel, caught by Steve Ricketts from a Southern stillwater on 3rd June 2024 and ratified at a weight of 11lb 3oz. This beat by just one ounce, Mr S. Terry’s longest-standing current British coarse fish record of 11lb 2oz, from 1978, a record many thought would stand for decades to come, such is the rarity of a double-figure eel.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A SET OF THE BEST FISHING SCALES IN CASE YOU CATCH A POTENTIAL RECORD FISH!
Back in February 2024, Lloyd Watson was fishing at Chew Valley Reservoir when he broke another long-standing record, landing an enormous pike weighing 47lb 5oz, which smashed the previous record of 46lb 13oz caught by Roy Lewis from Llandegfedd Reservoir, S. Wales.
"When I got it into the net, we both looked at it and couldn’t believe the size. It was absolutely ridiculous! It was the best day of my life," Lloyd told us.
IMPROVE YOUR OWN PIKE FISHING WITH THESE 10 BRILLIANT TIPS!
Around a similar time the BRFC announced it would be accepting new claims for catfish, after omitting the species for over 20 years after concerns of imported fish becoming a problem.
"The committee believes that the population of Wels catfish now growing to specimen sizes in British waters means that the threat of illegal imports of large catfish has diminished and we are therefore willing to receive new claims for the species. In order to avoid an excessive volume of record claims, the BRFC will advise the threshold weight for new claims exceed 130lb," the BRFC said.
A mere two months later, Darren Reitz landed 'Scar', a known catfish from Chigborough Lakes in Essex, at a colossal 143lb, becoming the first record for the species since 2000 where it stood at 62lb, highlighting just how big these fish are getting in British waters.
MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING ONE OF THE BEST FISHING REELS IF YOU PLAN ON FISHING FOR BIG, POWERFUL FISH.
In somewhat unusual circumstances, the British Record roach that stood at 4lb 4oz caught by Keith Berry in 2007 has been downgraded to 4lb 3oz due to a new protocol when testing the scales submitted for verification. This means both Dai Gribble's roach and Keith Berry's fish will share the record.
"Dai recorded the weight of his fish at 4lb 4oz, but the scales test, carried out in accordance with current BRFC protocol, indicated that the minimum weight required to produce a scale reading of 4lb 4oz was in fact slightly less than 4lb 4oz. BRFC protocol states that in such cases, the ratified weight for a capture will be rounded down to the next whole scale division. As Dai’s scale displays in one-ounce increments, the ratified weight is rounded down to 4lb 3oz," the BRFC told us.
"To ensure a consistent approach to recording weights, the BRFC’s current scales test protocol was introduced in 2008. Thus, when a scale check for a new record claim shows the fish to be close to, but not larger than, the current record weight we check the previous record weight by applying the current protocol to the scales check carried out at the time. In the past this led to the rounding down of the crucian carp record to the nearest ounce."
"The Committee then applied the protocol to the previous record (awarded in 2007) and this showed that, had the protocol been in place when it was considered, the weight of Keith Berry's fish would have been recorded an ounce lower at 4lb 3oz."
"The previous record of Ray Clarke was 4lb 3oz so we also applied the protocol to the scales test for that record. That would have seen the weight for Ray's fish rounded down to 4lb 2oz. The record will therefore now be amended to 4lb 3oz and will be shared by Keith Berry and Dai Gribble," the BRFC concluded.
WANT TO CATCH A BIG ROACH YOURSELF? READ THIS EXPERT ARTICLE FOR ALL THE BEST HINTS AND TIPS.
This page is a free example of the amazing content Angling Times Members get every single week. Becoming an Angling Times Member gives you access to award-winning magazine content, member rewards, our back issue archives, bonus content and more! Join our fishing community and find out more today!