Carp record is broken - how much bigger will they get?

JIM ROSBROOK has broken the Bailiwick carp record. He ledgered a boilie, which is a commercially prepared carp bait, in a Guernsey Freshwater Angling Society water in the north of the island and caught a 38-3-0 fish.

The first local carp record to be established was the 20-1-0 specimen caught by Richard McCarthy in May 1996.

Since then it has been broken five times, with the current one being a 37-11-0 fish landed by Peter Clark in June last year.

Few Guernsey residents would have imagined that such large fish exist in the relatively small areas of freshwater in the island.

The question remains, 'how much bigger will the local carp get?'. The new British record approved by the national committee in July is 65-14-0.

Surely the chances of a fish reaching that incredible weight here is very unlikely, or is it?

NINE mackerel, one bass and one garfish gave Richard Le Ray victory in the West Coast Sea Angling Club's annual match for the Island Trophy.

The all-night in Guernsey roving shore event attracted 18 members and 11 found fish.

The total catch consisted of 41 mackerel, two bass, one garfish, two conger, one sole, one pollack, one black bream and two lesser-spotted dogfish.

Current championship leader Shane Huxster finished second on the night with one conger and five mackerel to gain 71.5 points.

That further consolidated his lead at the top of the overall championship table.

He now has 791 points, well ahead of his father, Steve, on 469 and third placed Richard Torode on 373.5.

Shane is having an incredibly successful year, for he is also top of the Guernsey shore championship list with a lead of 49.75 points over his father.

With only one match left in the Guernsey series, he must be odds-on to take the title.

The next highlight in the club calendar is the eagerly awaited Specimen Fish Hunt. This open event will start with the first leg on the weekend of 22 to 24 September.

Registration will be held at the Youth Centre at the old Boys' Grammar School, Brock Road, between 6-7pm on Friday 22 September.

Weigh-ins will take place at the same venue at 10am and 10pm on the Saturday and Sunday.

It's open to all anglers and as usual there is a very comprehensive list of prizes for the best fish of each weekend and also the best overall over the three-leg event. The top prize is £1,000 for a Bailiwick record fish.

The dates of the second and third legs are 27-29 October and 10-12 November respectively.

Any unwanted fish that are brought to the weigh-ins will be sold, with the proceeds going to the local Wooden Spoon Children's Charity.

PETER FRISE has won the Guernsey Sea Anglers' Club's harbour shore match.

At the end of the four-hour evening event he brought 14 scad, 11 mackerel and three garfish to the weigh-in, where his catch weighed 15-6-0 to give him 161.5 points.

Second-placed Mike Weysom was some way behind, landing 10 scad, five mackerel and one pollack for 9-2-0 and 89.5 points.

The competition attracted 15 members. All but three found fish, the total catch consisting of 72 scad, 39 mackerel, seven garfish, three pollack, one black bream and one plaice.

With the catch consisting mostly of scad and mackerel, it's not a surprise that the kitty for the heaviest fish would be won with a modest specimen. In the event John Hatton took it with a 1-0-0 pollack.

Although he finished only sixth on the night, Hatton retained his lead at the top of the championship list.

However, current champion Frise rocketed up the table to take the runner-up spot, just 24.75 behind the leader.

Nevertheless, with five more competitions remaining, Frise is now well placed to go on to take yet another championship title.