Is this the biggest fish in Wales? Dad and son land monster carp

Giant Carp in Cardiff

A father and son who were enjoying a quiet fishing weekend in Cardiff were “awestruck” when they landed a giant carp that weighed twice as much as a small dog.

Tudor Prosser was fishing in Bute East Dock with his 10-year-old son Logan when the 40Ib monster took the bait.

“I saw it in the water and I thought to myself ‘That is a proper big fish’,” said the 36-year-old from Culverhouse Cross, who owns a security training company.

“It was a bit of a shock because it was such an unexpected catch,” he added.

The giant carp – a grass carp – weighed in at 40lb 2oz, which is more than five times the weight of an average newborn baby.

“When I caught it it took flight and went into the reed bed but when it realised it had been hooked it gave up and didn’t struggle. It was like a dead weight on the end of the rod,” said Tudor.

“Logan was great. He had the camera and he helped me take pictures of it but I think he was totally gobsmacked,” he added.

The pair had spent two hours finding the perfect spot to fish as the water was full of algae.

Tudor called the catch “a huge surprise” as the fishing community did not realise there were such giant carp in the docks.

The dad of three, who has been angling for 13 years, said he believed the catch could set a new Welsh record but explained that official records have not been kept in recent years as grass carp are not a native species in the country.

“Carp fishing is a close-knit community,” he said. “We are all friends and nobody I have spoken to has come across anything bigger. It is a big fish.”

Giant Carp in France

But Tudor is no stranger to big catches. During a fishing holiday in France last autumn he caught an enormous mirror carp that weighed 65lb 12oz.

“That was a lake in the Champagne-Ardenne region,” he said. “It was the fish of a lifetime. I could travel all over the world fishing and I might never catch one like that again.”

According to the Angler’s Mail the biggest grass carp ever caught in Britain weighed 52lb 8oz and was caught by a fisherman in Berkshire in August 2012.

Meanwhile angling website Land Big Fish claims that the biggest grass carp caught anywhere in the world weighed 73lb and was caught in Guntersville Reservoir in Alabama in April 2012.

After catching the fish Tudor and Logan weighed it and took photographs before putting it back in the dock.

Moc Morgan, chairman of the Federation of Welsh Anglers, said: “Forty pounds is quite an achievement – especially for a fish caught in the docks.”

If you are interested in catching giant Carp we have more on the subject in our article.