Now as Ive mentioned in the bait thread my Season campaign starts in less than 2 weeks im doing 4/5 days on my canal,it is rumoured to have 3 x 30's in there I've had this information off a well known big fish angler who has a bait company in my area,now I've already had one of the big 3 out at 32(common) there's apparently 2 mirrors left and I heard from someone last year that one was found dead but my question is could a 20lb plus carp look like a 30 when it's been left in the water for a while I mean it will swell and take on water I'd imagine so I find it hard to believe,especially if it's been found by an inexperienced angler who might think a 20 is actually a 30,you know what I'm saying when someone says “oh I've seen some big fish further down lake/river/canal and you go and look and it's a bream or small carp around 3/4lb mark our guess at sizes are different to occasional anglers and walkers or dog walkers.
Anyway the other rumour is that one of the mirrors has come out last year at 35 plus in an area I'm now looking at away from where I've fished in the past just further down the canal.

What's everyone's thought on truths and rumours as I'd appreciate peoples advice

In reply to Post #1
Without pictures everything is bullshine.

Pretty much everything bloats after it dies weather its in the water or not, so id say yeah its possible that a dead 20lb fish would appear larger...but a whole 10lb larger? That may be a bit of a longshot, but yeah like you said if someone unexperienced or just someone assuming that said dead fish was the big one then yeah I suppose its possible to make the mistake.

In reply to Post #2
Well the guy who I had some bait off he had pictures sent to him of fish caught on his bait and he even had a 40 plus out of a public lake but dodgy area that's not far from me as well so I know he's not telling BS.
And I know of another stretch where there's a few big uns in there and I mean 30 plus,I've even seen one my self that was knocking for 30 so I know they are there it's just when you hear someone say “I I've seen one dead in the edge”you don't know whether he was telling ALL the truth or it could be a completely different fish.

Only 100% believe what you see with your own eyes.
In a canal absolutely anything is possible, I've known carp to go both ways through locks and travel miles. Come to that I've known carp to travel miles between lakes as well.

In reply to Post #5
It's more to do with a fish being found dead and can a dead 20 be mistaken for a dead 30 and the 30 is still alive and well,I've had people come upto me when I'm fishing and say they've seen massive fish and when I've looked it's not as big to me as what they are saying

You have some bloating as the gas in the body brings it to the surface, not sure how much bigger it will look or weigh. Very difficult unless you have a known weight and id of the fish.

I'm always wary of rumours about fish disappearing. I've caught a few that had supposedly disappeared and were suspected to have died, then reappeared a few years later.

The hardest part on rivers and canals is how far they can move, through locks, over weirs.
I know fish in the River Gipping have gone around 15miles downstream, through the tidal Weir and taken residence in the brackish section. That's at least 5 weirs and Mills.

Some fish have moved upstream from Riverside over one Weir into a section about 2miles long.

In reply to Post #4
There you go pictures, let's honest a thirty isn't a big fish by today's standards , many canals have much bigger if that's your thing.

In reply to Post #1
Doesnt help you in any way but I've got pictures of all four 30s in my local stretch (including a 39) having been ottered in the last 7 months

Fish for them whilst they still 'might' be there. You can only truly believe what you see for yourself and as with everything, it is only a matter of time anyway

In reply to Post #8
30lb didn't start weighing any less just because they are less rare.
Its still the fish of dreams for many anglers and shouldn't be looked down on.

Rule number 1 - never believe a single thing in carp fishing unless it is a truly trusted source

I would be trying to find them and see them

Good post ...

You have to catch it or see it with your own eyes..I don't believe anything until I see it or catch it..

Years ago a lake I have fished since a 14yr old ..I'd caught literally 00s of carp many of them repeats ..not a double did I see or catch ..
One day I met someone, who was on holiday ,he'd had four carp over double figures ,but no evidence to back it up ,I didn't believe him at all..
The manor got sold,and the very last carp I caught was 10lb and one oz..a repeat capture as it had an ottered tail....

And another,a big ressi ,over the road..,had 'no' carp ....I didn't believe it had any fish at all,despite knowing the place..so on a hot day I went to the shallows ,..and I did indeed see some carp..,not many....,so my point is always back up your info,sometimes it's true ,sometimes not ....I err on the side of BS ...

In reply to Post #12
I've seen a picture twice off a guy at work he's a well known bulls**ter and he told me they were rack his uk pb and his French pb I laughed afterwards about it,but the source is a well known guy by me who told me originally about the 3x 30's in there

Unless you see it yourself everything is a myth
That's how I look at it

In reply to Post #4
If your referring to who I think your referring to yes he did have a 40 from public lake but he grafted for it and if he says there are three thirties in the cut I would be inclined to believe him

'Loose lips' many a challange have started as rumour, myth or a casual slip of the tongue but in the main 99% of the time is a wild goose chase in my oppinion.

In reply to Post #15
Like I said I've had one of the 30's from the cut it's more other people telling you they seen one of the big ones dead I didn't believe the guy who told me that,the guy who had the 40 out of that lake I believe him as he gets catch reports on his bait so he knows what's about

In reply to Post #10
Who's looking down ? Pointing out that thirties are /were fairly common isn't looking down especially considering whare the op used to live there were two upper forties and at least a dozen low forties years ago.

In reply to Post #18
I live in walsall westmidlands and there's not many places to fish really in that area unless it's public areas and that's what I enjoy doing chasing a rumour or fishing not so much blind(as in areas that are not known to produce carp)as you never know what you may catch in there.
I've had carp to 26.9 out the Walsall town stretch along with another 20 I've also had a 14lb pike on a boilie in that area,I've seen also a big fish there definitely late 20's possibly 30 plus few years ago,also had a 5lb,10,11,16,16 and a 32 from another stretch same canal but well away from town areas that's what I like doing.
And the guy was Dave Mallin he told me of the 30's in the February few years ago he bought some bait to me then I had one of them out at 32 in the may and hopefully there's 2 mirrors still around for me to go at.
Dave Mallin caught a 42 out of a place called the sanner dodgy as **** not many in there and the locals do not like you fishing the pool.

In reply to Post #19
Yeah I was referring to when you lived down south ?

In reply to Post #20
Oh yea ok mate no worries yeah there was a big one not far from me but dodgy as hell thefts and assaults galore,I had a ticket but the idiots there wouldn't let me have my dogs with me for my safety yet it was a public park and you could walk your dogs round it,also I worked with a lad at go outdoors who actually had that one out the cheeky hit tried to get free bait out of it a few times 😂😂😂

If the carcass has been eaten by foxes, badgers etc then unless someone is very experienced then I doubt they could say that the remains they saw were a 25lb or a 30lb as a lot of the ‘bulk' of the fish simply wouldn't be there any more. It's very unlikely that they saw the fish just as it popped up to be able to correctly size it.

Fish go on the missing list all the time. I know of a couple of BIG fish that were apparently dead for six years until they got caught again.

In reply to Post #22
Yeah I know they can go missing as well the canal I fish is 14 miles long between locks so theoretically they can be anywhere.

In reply to Post #23
Not saying it in this case. But I know I've been told things by guys who genuinely believed it, but who were clueless. Wrong weights, wrong fish, wrong locations. Even recently a mate of mine caught three fish. We were told about it by something else and two of the quotes weights were miles out.

Believe what you see in your own eyes I reckon.

In reply to Post #24
Yeah your right I had the same thing again other day when I went to bait up tales of 30/40lb carp and 10lb bream and 40lb pike quite funny really

In reply to Post #23
Are the locks in use? If so those fish are confined to 14 miles.

In reply to Post #26
They are in use especially in spring & summer they have some festival on with canal boats every year

In reply to Post #1
if he owns a bait firm, its bull****tteeee

In reply to Post #27
Then any of those fish could be miles away from your stretch. I've known carp to be caught from one stretch numerous times over many years and then suddenly go missing, only to suddenly get caught from another stretch, above a lock.

In reply to Post #29
A 40lb carp in the Sanna?

Not doubting it as ive not been over there in 20years but I couldn't think of a more unlikely place.

In reply to Post #30
42lb something it was
This is it
https://www.facebook.com/ESPCarpgear/posts/old-school-black-country-legend-dave-mallin-davemallinproducts-has-been-in-touch/10159500144799739/

Actually was 43.4 which is a phenomenal fish for round here I've only fished it once but my brother has walked round it as he doesn't live far from it and he was told no fish in there all the polish have had them,but I know the guy who had it at 36 as well (before Mallin)he works at another depot from me and I was there helping out and he told me he had it out at 36 then Mailin had it that's how I come to know about the fish,but it's a dodgy area they don't like you fishing there if your a new face,can't blame them protecting their fish as too many would catch a fish like that and put it somewhere for their own gain.

In reply to Post #31
I remember the place as a kid, extremely deep in parts and that was after the water level had dropped about 15foot.

The sort of place I would like to take a deeper now and see what its really like

In reply to Post #32
Like an egg box apparently

In reply to Post #33
Definatly snaggy too, There is at least 2 cars in there to my knowledge

In reply to Post #34
Just shows that lakes/rivers & canals can throw up surprises