I see the Waterside common has been Ratified as the new British record carp at 68lb 8oz.. well done that man..

In reply to Post #1
Well i thought it was an achievement.....

The captors coming in for some love on The Harrison rods FB page..

Why all the hate I don't no.. Home grown biggie takes the record. What's not to love. Caught on a propa carp rod as well.. 2.3/4lb test...

In reply to Post #2
Out again today i think ...66 lb 11 oz....Fine looking fish....!! .........(And not to Pecky...)


Regards Tad.

Proper fish on a proper rod not a 6lb 9ft mash scope

In reply to Post #4
Is that big fully scaled one still on the go?

In reply to Post #3
Ink ain't even dry on the certificate...


EDIT.....Sorry I was looking at the 11oz... Record safe for a week at least

Looks like spooners just had it

In reply to Post #7
Yes just seen that.. that's at least three times in the past month..

Roll up roll up, hook a 60....

Seriously well done anyone who willing to put in the time effort and money to have a gi for that fish. Well deserved capture to anyone fortunate enough to catch it..

In reply to Post #8
8th or possibly 9th capture of the year so far

In reply to Post #8
It's unfortunate that this fish is getting so much attention and pressure.
Can't be good in the long term.

In reply to Post #10
Hook a duck

In reply to Post #7
Still not had a uk50 tho 🤷‍♀️

In reply to Post #10
Not really, it's an open access venue that anyone can book. No bidding involved

In reply to Post #13
I did have a Google.
Open, but still a fair price to be in the lottery.
No doubt many of these sponsored high profile anglers will have their company funding their sessions.
LINKY POO™ https://www.watersidefishery.com/

The prices are per night not per person this can be up to ten anglers and prices are as follows:-Lake exclusive prices:- Sunday morning to Friday morning - £240 (2025 £250) Friday to Sunday morning £730 per weekend Full week for Friday to Friday is £1650 (2025 £1700)

In reply to Post #14
It's not that bad really, I've done it a couple of times and I'm by not means well off, just a normal working man. Its on par with most exclusive booking venues

In reply to Post #15
Up to 10 anglers, but I'd imagine most of these 'official' glory hunters will just have two on the lake, camera crew, chef, etc...

How many did you share the lake with?

In reply to Post #16
6 of us in total

Lovely kipper and well done to all the captures. Unfortunately it's going to be another fish hounded to extinction.

I can remember not too long ago when it was £10 a day
No nights.
It was only a 40 then lol

In reply to Post #19
on one level i cant blame the owner capitalising on the draw potential of the big fish, but its going to get too much hammer.

Mug fish

Each to their own but it’s not an achievement as far as I am concerned.

In reply to Post #20
I don't ever recall you having this attitude with lake owners on your fishery management group Dave, perhaps I need to use the search function lol.
Personally I think it's a magnificent fish, from what appears to be a really well run fishery. I'm pretty sure that the owner could fill his bookings asking considerably more for the chance to catch this fish and I don't begrudge them a penny of it.
Well done to the fishery and well done to all the anglers who catch it.

In reply to Post #20
It’s been booked solid for ages anyway 🤷‍♀️

In reply to Post #24
Just like any other half decent venue that can be exclusively booked.

In reply to Post #23
I did say i cant blame the owner capitalising on the draw potential of the big fish, so what attitude?

It's just a shame that the inevitable pressure and repeat captures will not be good for such a magnificent fish.

In reply to Post #26
It's an exclusive booking only venue, and most of the time there's a handful of anglers on there. Imagine if it were a normal day ticket venue. You'd have every swim taken daily, and it would be under way more pressure. Places like linear and farlows see far far more pressure on them

In reply to Post #26
To be fair I replied to the wrong post, it was post 14 that felt like you were insinuating that it was pricey.

In reply to Post #28
Anyone can get on the winter syndicate, great value for the money

In reply to Post #29
What's value for money then? 300, 400 notes? November to March?

Aint surprised it’s top dollar - sounds like it’s taken the geezer years to grow the thing, there’s bigger fish in Hales, wa’er whot only took a couple of mumffs in an eated swimming pool and f it goes belly up, annuvver one can be released - proper old school none of this anging around for years.

Spooner had it at 67lb.
Apparently seventh capture so far this year.

In reply to Post #32
Blimey, if he can catch it, it must be a mug fish.

In my experience a carp gets caught that often just before it goes belly up. Hopefully not the case this time.

In reply to Post #34
I’d not heard of this fish until a few weeks ago. Since then it seems like it’s been out about 3 times a week! Can’t be good for it, surely. Has it spawned at all? Is this its pre or post spawning weight? It looks a good shape regardless, well proportioned etc. Hopefully it’s just going through a phase and soon goes on the missing list until the autumn at least.

In reply to Post #35
It's a male fish. I think it's a worry that it's coming out so much this year. It's always been fairly friendly doing a few captures spring, summer and autumn but this seems a bit too often.

Maybe it’s just realised it can eat all day long and if it gets hooked the worst that happens is it gets a cuddle and a photo.

Anyone know of the fish puts up much of a fight once hooked?

In reply to Post #37
Pretty much a definition of a mug fish.

See it's come out again to one of the famous ones who looked to have the place to themselves.

Fair play n all that, but buying a whole lake until you catch the one you want feels a long way away from the truth of the everyday fishing us mere mortals contend with.

So what's the point?

In reply to Post #39
Reminds me of the Warmwel common in the early 90s. 50lb fish in a small venue, chased by the great and the good.

Kevin nash even wrote a book about not catching it. Two big commons if you include the snake pit fish...😂😎

In reply to Post #39
Crikey mate...what? It only counts now if it reflects rammed syndis or day tickets 🤔
Surely that's more a reflection on the way you think, which is fair enough, each to their own.

It could be argued there's less skill and it's more luck, when every inch is covered in rods & nods.

The fish had the whole lake to hide in and he still caught it. Yes it may have been less wary but even still.

I just hope they enjoyed the capture more than you did 😂👍

In reply to Post #41
Yep I think it's a naff way of going about fishing.

Turn up, lock gates to keep um out, chase it around a garden pond until it slips up, pack up your transit, collect your cheque and go home never to return.

Or maybe start typing the post code of the next lake in before the photos 😕

In reply to Post #42
Everyone can hire this lake either as a social or on your own.
So if you wanted your 5 weeks as a record holder you can.
How many of the big fish in times gone by came from smaller lakes.

The Fish can’t help how big it is does it even know lol

Would make a great topic for a bit of fun!

When's it a wrongun (capture or fish) to you ?

Of course the last Area to blame is the fish. " if you build it they will come " there's a reason why that became an iconic saying. If people in charge of lakes succumb to the money they can make. They should not be in that business. Nature should be for the people who love it and want to preserve it. Not for profiteering ********s I'm not saying a person or club running a lake shouldn't cover expenses or make a profit to provide further investment. But not to give dividends leeches just investing for a profit. Same for water companies. Why don't we rise up or "strike" surely this shouldn't continue.

In reply to Post #45
Fair enough...but....honestly, it's pot calling kettle, I'm not having a pop as it's almost impossible to avoid it.
I suppose your pension funds aren't tied up with dividend seeking companies?
Again, you avoid buying Fox Int whatever, never mind all the investment fund owned tackle companies.

I'm not saying it's right, or for that matter wrong (Korda trust waters) just saying it's hard to draw a line when money's involved.

In reply to Post #46
Money will be an obvious factor, and both Korda and DP will be using it to sell tackle

It's how the world works now

They have just posted that its passed away now, it did seem to be coming out alot more the it used to

Someone should start an RIP thread so everyone who caught it and it their fanboys can pay their respects

In reply to Post #48
Not too surprised to hear this, it seems quite common that big fish are often caught more before they die.

In reply to Post #48
A victim of it's own growing success and the never ending pressure in the hunt for the largest.

I'm not shocked at all. This has been coming. The same crew have had this place and The Manor in Hants booked out on company bookings constantly. The fully also lost a tonne of weight this year. That was likely close to pegging it. Luckily that is growing back.

New trend to glug freezer baits that the fish INGEST in all sorts of potions. Whilst piling it in by the barrowload. Of course it's all going to end in tears. Young fish both too. Absolutely clueless.

It all boils down to mis management greed and 💶💶💶💶💶💶💶💶💶💶💶

In reply to Post #52
Is there anything in these glugs that you think are particularly problematic Mark?

I'd be interested to know if this carp was getting caught more often than the others in the lake?
It will also be interesting to see how the DDAPS fish fairs in comparison. Another huge, fast growing carp, but seemingly leading quite a different life.

In reply to Post #54
I've never even seen them Andy. But it's September. Fish don't normally die in Sep. That common has been publicised as being caught on large beds of 'customised' freezer baits at least twice this year. You know what carp angling is like. Everyone then starts doing the same thing. Anglers should not be mucking about with freezer baits like that. A hook bait no problem, they do not ingest it. But to start soaking very large quantities of free freezer baits in glugs.... That just is not the one full stop. But it's being advertised. Then the fish is dead in September.

Carp fishing is its own worst enemy these days. I do not agree with most of what Jim Shelley says & we have had our problems, but he is and always has been a proper angler. I saw a quote from him the other day referring to how manufactured UK carp fishing is these days. I could not agree more.

Take these two lakes. Open access. Within five minutes the biggest carp fishing company are block booking it so normal anglers can't fish it. So the fish only gets caught by their blokes, and stuff can be sold online off the whole affair. Podcasts, videos. It's all set up. Perception is that wow that fish only gets caught on that gear. The Lord & the Lady were caught as a brace couple of weeks ago on ScopexPineapple-S2. That don't happen. The lady is rare. The only reason the fella even got the chance, was because the block bookers gave up their booking. Because the fish had come out two weeks before massively down in weight. It had put on loads of weight in between these two captures, just a week or so apart. Something bad had clearly happened to the fully too. If that had died as well... That would have been tragic.

So what is happening to these young fish to be dying or so down in weight in Sep?

In reply to Post #55
Good point Andy. And the DDAPS fish has many more anglers per week chasing it.

The DDAP's fish will be fine. It's in a traditional club water. There's not film crews down there constantly with pressure to catch that fish. It's a crying shame that it has gone non publicity.... I got sent a raft of photos the other day funnily enough. Ovbs they cannot be shown. Wow.

But when you look at all this, you can see why it went non publicity.

Carp fishing is being taken in the completely wrong direction, for money. Makes me sad, the whole media driven circus these days. It's so set up, so manufactured. It's not what carp fishing was ever about. But anglers all lap it up in the main, as they love the media.

It started with Goo. It was only put on the hook bait just before you cast. Then over time that changed to soaking them and re-soaking them funnily enough. But this is all hook baits. There's no problem. I have been resolving export & import licences recently. They are classified as lures if you did not know on the International classifications... Because they do not get ingested. Freezer baits do get ingested. The laws regarding lures are far more lax for that reason. Not the laws regarding feed that gets ingested though. They are very strict.

Fast forwards to 2026. Every firm now has glugs that you lather all over freezer baits. This is all new. Some people get freezer baits in very large quantities for free. Then you start hearing about 'modified freezer bait'. Basically re-soaking freezer baits over & over again in glug. The moment I started seeing this being publicised, I knew it was going to end up as a big problem.

You don't see bait companies selling it like that.... Yet anglers want the edge. They don't think about the consequences. Well one of these fish lost a colossal amount of weight & the other is now dead. Both are very young.

In my humble opinion anglers should not be modifying large quantities of bait to be consumed by the fish with chemicals. That's not the one at all. Bait is to be eaten. That's the big attraction, the food. It does not need to be made super attractive with chemicals. That's for the hook bait if you want.... Which does not get ingested.

In reply to Post #59
I'd say the original foodbait glug was fish oils, back in the 80's and 90's. That didn't end well for quite a few fish either, did it? Liver problems if I remember correctly?

I'm not sure if I'm barking up the wrong tree but I've always thought if a bait (to be used as free offerings) needs a load of stuff chucked over it then it is probably deficient in the first place - all the best baits I've ever used worked as is straight from the bag.

In reply to Post #61
They should work straight out of the bag, would worry me terribly if they didn't!

This sort of thing is just another fad, something else to do, trying to be different etc, it also sells stuff...unless we are watching various scenario's then how can we say that it's this that has made the difference, so many variables.

Shame about the fish.

As Mark and others have rightly said....
If a freezer bait needs glugging in goo/smart liquid or any other pile of highly flavoured crap, then it's a pile of rubbish in the first place.
And if it 'needs washing out' to make it 'palatable' to fish, then again, it is an overflavoured pile of rubbish too.

It's just another fallacy that is force fed to the massive by clever 'free video's' from the Korda Machine and it's ilk.

"Tell you what I'll do, I'll make the first one free. Then when you want some more, just come back to me".....

This fish got caught loads but often never publicised. It was doing once a week on the bank this summer pretty much. Sometimes twice in a few days!
Writing was on the wall.

On the glugged baits things, I put stuff in mine. Hydros and natural liquids. They’d work out the bag but I like to add a couple of things to enhance them. Putting glycerine based liquids is not ideal, even heavy oils that lock the baits up. Can’t see this being down to bait though, just sheer angling pressure and stress.

In reply to Post #64
Granted. That common was an absolute liability to itself. The fully does not get caught every five minutes like that common did though. The fully has had the same set of circumstances as that common all year. The fully was 15 odd lb down at late summer weight. Ones dead. One lost a crap load of weight and was clearly close to pegging it. This is not post spawning.

Can't just gloss over the fact that the British record has been around all the 'media crew' for literally five minutes. It's now dead.

I watched the exact same thing with the Thames record, but that was like, two minutes.

Glugging freezer baits in potions, is all new. The bloke who caught the Lord & the Lady as a brace was on there five minutes... Not years ahead on block bookings. He caught it on our hook baits, but over Cell. He did not need to modify that Cell. It's always caught fish. It always will. Suddenly something new is being thrown into the equation. Some things are ok in small quantities they ingest, start piling the same stuff in and there is a big problem. Fish start losing weight drastically, or dying.

Publicity bans are a godsend for people like me, they have almost cleared a couple of fisheries this year from the new school bounty hunters. I love a secret album that you can paw over and dream about holding this fish - although I get for manufacturers it’s not great, probably lucky mark doesn’t need sponsored anglers to do his publicity.

On washing out baits - it something I often do with feedbait - not because I use overflavoured crap but I just think for a Sunday afternoon there isn’t a better bait than a soft washed out one that looks like it’s been there for days

Washing out and sometimes washing in was also something we used n the muckiest estate lake that had depths of silt that were stinking but held fish.

These current crop of big fish have become like party photo booths - where you wait your turn, and then post it up for likes and loves. Each to thier own. I save my envy for fish like the black mirror, where it wasn’t about the access or affordability it was about the blood sweat and tears the anglers put in.

All very purist of me and a bit ironic as I am dong a quick evening session on a fairly newly dug water, that has a few lumps in it, not because I can post it on sm (it has a ban) but because I had an absolute shocking days fishing yesterday from start to finish (3 lakes visited, 2 fished and 5 swims across those lakes, getting th most savage liners and done more times Philip Schofields assistant.

In reply to Post #66
Party photo booth carp love it 😂
These current crop of big fish have become like party photo booths - where you wait your turn, and then post it up for likes and loves... so true !

New record today..??

In reply to Post #68
DDAPS fish Moonscale apparently
Any idea of the weight. Dont even think the Waterside common has even been ratified. And it looks like its already been usurped..🤔😀

In reply to Post #69
68.11 😱

In reply to Post #69
The waterside fish was given the nod officially a few weeks ago

It was a vs c4 stockie, went in 14 years ago at 14lb 💪🏻

In reply to Post #71
Quote: The waterside fish was given the nod officially a few weeks ago

Well at least the fella had his moment in the Sun. Fair play..👍👏😀

I've seen the photo from today and it's insane. Bloody well done to the captor. The shoulders on it when you see it!! Been saying it for ages, that fish will dominate the record for a long time now it's got there. It's growing still. That will be 73/74 all day long this winter. It always comes out bigger in winter too. It's a very impressive carp for one so young. Best by far I've seen it look too.

I wonder how many more of that Harrow strain have gone into the right waters?😎

It's an incredible fish, not the only decent one in there either, well done to the captor.

In reply to Post #72
Quote: It was a vs c4 stockie, went in 14 years ago at 14lb 💪🏻

Right fish. This was apparently a captor from a few years back. According to the DDAPS Bennets lake page. Club is no pub. So no picture as yet. Which I find hard to believe.

No publicity in an age where anything can be shared instantly. I think your on a hiding to nothing

No doubt there would of been a few cameras and phones knocking about. Someone's going to show it to someone and so on.. 😀😂😍😉😎🤔👏🎣

In reply to Post #77
so the picture of the fish that has been shared on here is a few years old?? 😱😱

Looks all of 68lb in that already IMO, must look huge now then

You just have to look at the VS page to see it at 68 late last year:
https://www.vsfisheries.co.uk/vs-monsters

In reply to Post #79

In reply to Post #80
Cracking fish... but shame its being shared widely if its a strictly no publicity water.

Loose lips sink ships etc, just a whole load of unwanted attention.

In reply to Post #81
Feel like he might as well claim it at this point, seeing how everyone already knows about it lol

In reply to Post #81
agree

In reply to Post #81
It's not being shared widely. Not one of the photos that are being shown are from yesterday. They are all old photos of it before the publicity ban started. It's on our threads three times on here. Much better photos of it than are being shown.

I have the photo of it yesterday on my phone. Not seen that photo anywhere else on the internet. It's super impressive.

I was sent 50+ photos of big carp from there two weeks ago by a forum member from here. All caught on the hook baits recently. But they, and yesterdays photo cannot be shown, as there is a publicity ban now. It came in just after the recent Korda podcast featuring the fish. Literally a couple of days after.

In reply to Post #79
Yesterday's photo is taken from a bit higher and further back. It shows the fishes frame and shoulders much better mate.

In reply to Post #84
Thanks for clarifying. I didn't realise the water had only turned non publicity in recent times.

In reply to Post #81
within the local area its one of the worst kept secrets that that lake holds lots of bigguns.. theres several club/ syndicates locally that will have members who also have a ticket for that club too... as you say people cant keep it quiet can they..

In reply to Post #87
I don't know the membership numbers for DDAPS, but I'm absolutely sure that it's high enough that it'll never be truly non publicity. Even with small syndicates (limited membership waters) word of what's occurring constantly trickles out, if only locally.

No publicity these days is really just a social media ban - the old days it was just a publication ban. Anyone will still talk about the club, it’s stock and it’s waters and I don’t believe it is ever supposed to be some masons secret society.

It just stops (maybe belatedly) a situation where suddenly every week there are fish put up for sponsorship deals and meaning a queue for swims. Wether deliberate or not, it has meant that any angler lucky enough to catch only has the personal glory - I say only as that would be enough for many of us, but for others the need to showcase what hook, swivel and mainline to keep the coin rolling in means they keep away and focus on waters that do allow media exposure.

We live in a world where the names are hiring ponds for a month for thousands until they catch a fish - or talk weekly on a pod cast about a poor employee that hasn’t had a 50 so put him in situations where breaking this duck is all about publicity.

It now looks like a record fish stocked at a low weight in a club water is a record - what a story - a fish that isn’t up for auction- one that is safe (er) from a campaign that focuses just on nailing them, meaning the anglers fishing it are not all of the mindset of moving on once that one is in the album. Clubs have their challenges but I find it wonderful in todays world that a record has such a brilliant back story with no debate about it being some swimming pool fed short term aqua pig.

As always there will be captors in the future that will want and need the hype and will forgo the ticket for likes and love once they have this in their album - in the grand scheme of things do any of us really need more info? Pictures etc?

Previous records came with aspersions of maybe one day getting in redmire, or facing the brutality of the brook etc. this one should bring to us all that mad things happen, and that cheap club ticket could one day rock the country - enjoy that fact, celebrate it, and for once it seems the names won’t all be able to take turns hauling it out no matter how deep theirs of their employers pockets are.

Well if it is a VS stock fish and it went in at that weight, i wouldn't argue with that. I said for a long time the record fish should have an history and a capped stock weight if so, i had 10lb in my head 😂

I think we need to realize carp fishing is no longer what it was. Gone are the days of the black mirror and such fish, that for me was a truly iconic moment in carp fishing history, the one we all dream about, unknown monsters.

Stocking at a reasonable weight is acceptable, fish come and go, that is a fact 🐟

What carp fishing has turned into is the difference, people cashing in on it, the popularity of the pastime, everyone wanting massive fish in their arms and people providing it for them for financial gains, Waters a getting stocked up, a ridiculous amount of bait is going in and the fish are under extreme pressure. Its a money making machine, that's then difference between now and then

In reply to Post #90
It was a VS fish. Harrow cross by the looks of its shoulders. Harrow fish were apparently bought in from Belgium back in the day Went in as a c4 so probably low double. Agreed done the right way.😀

In reply to Post #91
Agree, done exactly the right way.

The only sad thing is that it can leave the door open for people to manipulate this example. stock ponds force feeding etc. The right fish, size capped at stocking, living in a "water" many variables, size, stock etc. that has been left to grown under "normal" circumstances. Feed by anglers as opposed to lake owners as an example. Keep it as natural as possible and the fish will keep the merit it deserves.

For me the carp record does not hold the merit that it once did due to people trying to cash in on it. With the right stocking policy and environment where the fish lives and grows, it could end up being a little bit special again, we will have to see.