Birthday boy, five, lands a massive 23lb carp

Little Harry MacRae is celebrating his catch of the day after netting a huge 23lb carp.

The five-year-old of Kingswinford landed the fish on a birthday fishing trip with his father Paul to Shatterford Lakes near Kidderminster.

He had already hooked in five bream and seven other carp in smaller pools – but he wanted to aim for a bigger prize.

Harry, who has been fishing for 18 months, begged his father to let him try his luck in the Masters Pool – where the experienced anglers show off their skills.

And within an hour, the 23lb carp had started to bite, and little Harry was struggling to drag it out of the water.

Paul, 33, of Mayflower Drive, said: "I was gobsmacked when I saw him pull it out. I gave him a hand because it was so heavy but he did all the hard work himself.

"He'd had such a successful day that his arms were already really tired but he was so happy. He absolutely loves fishing."

Harry, who is a pupil at Kingswinford's Blandford Mere Primary, also caught a personal best 19lb grass carp – and his next ambition is to land a catfish.

Paul, who works as an astroturf fitter, has been anging throughout Europe, including the Dordives in France where he netted a 46lb carp three years ago. It was his heaviest so far. Shatterford Lakes spokesman Daven Percival said Harry was a "class act". He added: "We have a lot of children come down during the school holidays.

"Many of them had been here days on end. Harry comes down, and in one day absolutely aces it. I cannot tell you how rare it is for a child of his age to have a catch like this."

Harry spends most Sunday afternoons at Shatterford Lakes with his father and has his own rod and reel.

Although his eight-year-old sister Rachel is more interested in taking dance classes, she sometimes helps him out.

Paul said: "They've got a good brother and sister partnership going on but it's Harry that is really passionate about fishing.

"It took me years to get a fish that size so who knows what he will end up doing in a few years' time."