What is the best fish youve ever caught? ( no lieing!)

[MatthewP]

Mine would have to be an 18lb pike from a gravel pit near Canterbury a few years back. Despite fishing for pike since I was young I had never had anything over 7lb before this fish. Although I have had one bigger since the memory of this particular fish will always stay with me.

[Steve Burke]

A chub on a small stream I spent several weeks in catching!

 

It was in a very open swim and spooked each time I approached it, even inching along on hands and knees.

 

In the end it was easy, but being a bit dim-witted it took me weeks to figure it out! I simply measured the distance to its lie, noted a tuft of grass on the far bank to aim at, and then cast from a long way back from the bank. It took within seconds!

 

It was only 3-04, but it reminded me of a trout in an almost impossible lie that Dick Walker described catching in "Drop Me a Line" and nicknamed "Oswald". I wrote to him about my Oswald and got a lovely reply by return.

 

One of the fish I'm most pleased with was also a chub, but caught from a stillwater. These are very much harder than river chub and there were lots of interesting problems to solve.

 

My biggest from this farm reservoir went 5-01½ in the early 80s. In those days this was a very big fish, and in fact until the last fortnight was the biggest caught by a Chub Study Group member that season.

 

Never mind the biggest chub in the lake though, "Oswald" is still my "best" fish.

 

[ 28. August 2003, 08:12 AM: Message edited by: Steve Burke ]

[Apache]

My first barbel at 10lb 8oz!

[Alan Pearce]

During the past twenty years I have had a burning desire to catch a 3lb river perch. Had plenty of big two pounders including one at 2lb-15ozs and two at 2lb-14ozs, but never a 3 pounder. Another ambition of mine was to catch a 5lb plus chub from my local Suffolk Stour. Once again two at 4lb-15ozs and two at 4lb-14ozs plus lots of other big fours.

 

Last Monday whilst fishing a Stour weirpool for perch, within twenty minutes of making my first cast with lobworm as bait, I had both a 3lb-4oz perch and a 5lb-5oz chub. Just two bites for the short evening session and two ambitions achieved. Funny old thing fishing!

 

Alan.

[Steve Burke]

Congratulations, Alan! Well-deserved fish!

[Apache]

Well done Alan.

[Lee-sox]

The best fish I have ever caught has to be a 13lb pike from the river Waveney.

 

It was nearly bottom tide and I was lure fishing from my boat, it was a blazing hot day and with the polarised glasses on I could see the bottom of the river all around me, I cast out a Bull-Dawg about 40 or so yards and watched it sink slowly, as it touched bottom I could see a nice pike close in on it, I started my retrieve and watched as the pike followed the lure nearly all the way to the boat, then with about ten yards to go it slammed in to the lure and gave me a very memorable fight.

 

It was excellent watching the pike go after its prey in the crystal clear water.

[Stinca]

just so many to choose from............I wish.

 

My first 5lb tench on the first day of the season from the Royal Military canal. Although some 12 years ago and many bigger fish later, it's still vivid. Twas my mighty milestone in my angling apprenticeship. Still serving it now though.

 

Its nice to see that most have posted fish that were truly experience based rather than pure size.

[seph]

I am split between 2. It is either my first 20lb carp or my first double figure barbel. I think I would go for the carp as it was the first I achieved. I imagine I will beat this when I actually catch my first Grayling.

 

Seph

[manse]

The very first one......even if it was a little Roach about 18 months ago it got me "hooked" for life.