West Berkshire fish sets new record

Wasing Estates 'parrot' tops the scales

THIS whopping West Berkshire fish has set a new British record.

The mirror carp, dubbed ‘the parrot’ because of its distinctive beak-shaped mouth, topped the scales at 68lb 1oz when it was caught at the Wasing Estate last Tuesday.

Dean Fletcher caught the colossal carp after just one hour at the lake.

Fisheries manager at the Wasing Estate, Mark Hibbs, said that Mr Fletcher called him at 4am to report the catch.

“He only ever calls me when he gets a decent fish,” said Mr Hibbs, who rushed down to the lake to confirm the parrot’s weight.

“He’s caught 86 of the fish in the lake and he’s just been waiting for the parrot.

“It couldn’t have happened to a nicer chap.”

Mr Fletcher’s catch has since been ratified as the new British carp record.

The parrot topped 64lb in March 2014 and Mr Hibbs said that it would keep on growing and easily top 70lb.

The estate is also home to other specimen carp topping 40lb.

Mr Hibbs said that the record catch had pushed the estate to the top of the pile for carp fishing.

“Carp fishing is huge – the waiting list has shot up to about 10 years,” he said.

But if you want to try and catch the parrot you have to be a member of another fishing syndicate at Wasing Estate.

Mr Hibbs said: “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime fish.

“We need to make sure members are capable of fishing for it before we let them on the water.

“It’s boosted our profile. It comes out a couple of times a year, but we never know when or who is going to catch it.

“It’s a special fish.”

The previous British freshwater fish record was held by a mirror carp named Two Tone, who weighed in at 67lb 14oz.

He died at the age of 45 in 2010 at Conningbrook Lake in Kent.