A long-standing British fishing record has been smashed after a huge pike was caught at our own Chew Valley Lake.
Lloyd Watson, who is an angler based in Manchester, landed the huge catch, weighing 47lb 5oz, on his first ever trip to our fishing hotspot on Tuesday, 13 February.
Lloyd’s mammoth catch, which has been confirmed by the British Record Fish Committee, has beaten the previous British pike record of 46lb 13oz, set by Roy Lewis at Welsh reservoir Llandegfedd in 1992.
Once weighed and a few photos were taken with the help of fellow anglers, the pike was carefully released back into the water by Lloyd in accordance with fish welfare standards. Lloyd, who has been pike angling for over 30 years, says he was in “total disbelief” when the catch was made. He’s even had people from all over the world messaging him, wanting interviews.
It caps a fantastic couple of years for angling at Chew Valley, which is our largest reservoir, after several fish weighing 30lb and 40lb have been caught in recent months. The lake is also an important site for wildlife and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
“It’s pike fishing Mecca,” Lloyd added. “It’s the Theatre of Dreams for pike fishing. It has made so many dreams come true for lifelong pike anglers. It’s just a smile factory, a special place.”
Luke Cox, our Fisheries and Recreations Manager, said: “We would like to congratulate Lloyd on this superb achievement, and it’s great from our point of view that fish welfare was top priority with plenty of anglers and staff on hand to help weigh this once in a lifetime capture.
“Chew has been in terrific form of late. Its shallow nature and abundance of food, I’m sure, is a huge factor in why the pike that live here grow to such colossal sizes. We take great pride in managing the fishing activities and careful planning is undertaken to conserve the pike population.”