The news that the world record carp has been broken by a monster 94 pound fish early in 2010 will get many anglers reaching for their carp fishing rods now! The fish was caught in France where many of the huge carp being caught these days are coming from. This time the fish, known as ‘Briggs Fish’, was caught at Rainbow Lake near Bordeaux. The captor, a fishing tackle representative from the UK, had caught the fish just over a year earlier on a previous trip when it had only weighed 84 pounds.

The 10 pounds increase in weight of the fish in around 16 months is phenomenal growth for a wild fish (though could easily be expected within the controlled environment of  a fish farm) and is probably a measure of the ideal conditions of temperature and water quality to be found in the French lakes. It is also an indication of the abundance of food that must be available, though that is most likley as a result of the heavy and systematic ground baiting practices of the anglers.

The fish beat the previous world record of 91 pounds by 3 pounds, a substantial margin, and indicates that the possibility of beating the magic 100 pounds barrier is very real indeed. It does make you wonder where it will all end however. As the carp fishing industry becomes more geared towards catching these big fish – fish are selectively reared and stocked in ideal conditions, bait and carp tackle become a science, an industry in itself. The worry is that the increase in popularity of the sport will generate a new business geared more towards the financial returns to be had from enthusiasts willing to spend their money.

Carp fishing tackle must now be state of the art, with electronic bite alarms and back ups on each one of the mandatory three or four rods pointed at the unwary fish. Unwary? Not really as the stars of the show seem to get caught frequently and become well known by the fishermen. They also become the targets for criminals, who recognize that a single fish can be worth many thousands!

I am glad that angling is as popular as ever, and wish the carp specimen hunters well in their quest for bigger fish. I will be looking to catch a mere 5 or 10 pound fish the next time I go fishing. I have found a lake that has not been fished before in recent memory and the owner has allowed me to have a go. Actually if I catch anything I will be over the moon!

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