Now THAT'S a fish! Craig catches monster 53lb carp
Black Country fisherman Craig McEvoy is celebrating after catching this 'monstrous' 53 pound carp.
The 37-year-old caught a series of huge fishes all in the space of a few hours at RH Fisheries in Shifnal, before rushing off to attend his uncle's funeral.
The care manager from Wednesbury said: "I couldn't really sleep during the night, so I went out to the Avenue Carp Fishery before dawn and I could see there was a bit of activity in the water.
"It's usually difficult water there, so I was over the moon when I caught the first few fishes.
"I was due to attend my uncle's funeral later that day and I couldn't believe what was happening, I caught a 35, 32 and 27 pound carp before the monstrous 53 pound 8 ounce mirror carp.
"As soon as I got the bite I knew I'd got something special.
"I had to get in the lake and one of the fishery bailiffs got in and helped me too - it took 45 minutes to pull it out.
"It was a strange feeling once I got it - I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"It's so rare to get a fish as big as this, especially in the Midlands.
"It was a moment where I felt like I was being looked over."
Mr McEvoy who turned 37 the day after his personal best catch, had just finished writing his first book about his fishing experiences and has now had to add an extra chapter to include his latest feat.
In his book, he recalls the first fish he caught when his grandad took him out to Sedgley when he was seven years old.
Unfortunately for Craig his grandad didn't see the event and didn't believe his catch to the day he died as he claimed there were no fish in the pond.
And now the award winning angler is setting his sites on the UK carp mirror record of 68 pounds and believes he could be in line for an Angler of the Year award.
He said: "I won the Mainline & Carp-Talk award for Regional Angler of the Year a few seasons ago and with this I expect could get this year's national award.
"I'm also looking at breaking the UK record as the water at the Avenue has been altered to have high oxygen for the fish.
"We believe the biggest carp in the UK is already in there."
