Goldfish are normally big enough to live in a bowl in people’s homes, happily whiling the hours away, scarcely taking up enough room to cause any trouble.
However, British angler Andy Hackett celebrated his efforts after reeling in one of the world's biggest goldfish at a fishery in France.
The gigantic orange specimen, aptly nicknamed ‘The Carrot’ with its bright orange color, weighed a whopping 67lbs 4ozs (about 30kg). The fish is a hybrid species of a leather carp and a koi carp, which are traditionally orange-like general golden fish.
It was 30lbs (about 13.6kg) heavier than what was considered to be the world's biggest goldfish, caught by Jason Fugate in Minnesota, US, in 2019.
And it was more than double the size of a 30lb bright orange koi carp caught by Italian Raphael Biagini in the south of France in 2010.
The Carrot landed at Bluewater Lakes in Champagne, France. It was put into the lake 20 years ago and has proved to be a slippery customer ever since. For this time, Hackett spent 25 minutes bringing the fish in.
Hackett, who is 42 years old, said he always knew the Carrot was in there but never thought he would catch it.
“I knew it was a big fish when it took my bait and went off side to side and up and down with it. Then it came to the surface 30 or 40 yards out, and I saw that it was orange.
“It was brilliant to catch it, but it was also sheer luck.”
He posed for a photo afterward before releasing it back into the water.
The fishery manager, Jason Cowler, said: “We put the Carrot in about 20 years ago as something different for the customers to fish for. Since then, it has grown and grown, but it doesn’t often come out. She is very elusive.”
Comment