I thought you might be interested to know that I once caught a British Record! Though it's not as good as it sounds. On 17 June 1996 I was fishing in a small lake near me when I caught a small black fish of about 3 oz which I didn't recognise. When I got home I checked a book and discovered it was a Bullhead Catfish, and the record was only 2oz, so mine was probably a record, unless a bigger one had been caught in the year or so since the book was published - I wasn't on the web then. However I didn't claim it as a record for 3 reasons:

1. It was a pathetically small fish. I notice that a proper one was caught in 2001 weighing 1lb 3oz. I guess someone must have claimed the 2oz one, though?

2. I hadn't had it witnessed etc.

3. I'm ashamed to see I was fishing illegally. 'It wasn't deliberate, honest your Lordship', but, well, everyone told me you could fish there. Admittedly there were 'no fishing' signs all round the lake, but I'd walked all the way there and............... Bit of a problem when you're a vicar. Lucky it wasn't a record roach! I'd have been asking theological questions for ever and a day about why.....

Would the British Record Fish Committee not believe a Vicar ?

If I were lucky/skillfull enough to catch a record and, as often happens, I'm miles from anywhere, without a witness, then I suppose I'd do just the same, slip it back, unclaimed.

Wasn't it Chris Yates who spent a year or so trying to crack the gudgeon record? Or was that a wind-up?

There's one record that is distinctly 'gettable' on my local stretch of estuary: the sand smelt record. Maybe I'll give up mulleting next year, and really go for it. Fame awaits! frosty

There's a bus driver on a route near my house who struck up a conversation with me one day, since I was dressed in the full angling regalia.
He told me about the day he hoked into a cracker of a specimen one day and later had his amazing capture ratified.
He held (and may still) the record for the biggest Black Goby caught in British waters. I can't remember the weight but I'm sure it was in ounces and drams

i caught the british record grayling in 1982 ,being only 18 i despatched the fish to have the weight verified,dont think i could do it again though.caught the fish while i was living in dorset 16 years ago,the fish was mounted and put on display in wimbourne tackle shop,that was the last i saw of it till last year when my sister came up for xmas with a big pressie for me in side was the fish didnt look right some how, but now its on my shop wall i see it every day ,it brings back good memories but it does look sad in the glass case.

Congratulations on catching the grayling record when only 18!

Graham X . . give up Mullet fishing !! be ashamed, be very ashamed.

Well.. it stands to reason doesn't it? Who'd want to catch a fish like the Grey Mullet that is dead easy to catch and that fights like a dead bream?

Pound-for-pound, I mean ounce-for-ounce, there's no better fighter than a sand smelt.

Now.. where's my medication?

whilst on outing sometime ago I pulled out a britsh record out of the local canal.....it was des o'conner if my memory serves me correctly

Boom boom!!Basil Brush couldn't have done it any better...