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How the new British Record carp was caught

by Aidan Bordiuk |

Updated on7th May 2026 at 2.29pm

A new chapter in British carp fishing history has been written this week after the long-standing official record was surpassed at Waterside Fishery in Buckinghamshire.

The previous benchmark, a 68lb 1oz carp known as “The Parrot”, caught by Dean Fletcher in 2016, has now been eclipsed following the capture of a huge fish by Mike Nixon.

Fishing with friends on a lake-exclusive booking, Mike landed the fish known as “The Waterside Common”, which weighed in at a staggering 68lb 8oz. While the scales are now being sent for verification and an official claim is expected to follow, we spoke to Mike to find out exactly how the capture unfolded.

Mike holding the huge fish - all 68lb 8oz of it!

"We were there for four nights, and we felt the fairest way to decide on swims was to draw for them. With six of us fishing, I wasn’t overly confident when I came fifth in the draw, but I managed a 25lb 14oz mirror on the first morning, which boosted my confidence," Mike explained.

"After that, it went very quiet for me, yet there were a few other fish being caught around the lake. Good friend Chris caught a fish known as the Wood Carving at 35lb, Dan caught a lovely two-tone common at 34lb, and Nev caught a chestnut mirror and a new PB at 36lb. Meanwhile, Kev was having a great session and racked up five fish to 27lb 8oz."

The width of the fish is remarkable!

Despite the great start with nearly all the anglers catching fish, Mike just felt his tactics weren't quite right. After observing some fish feeding in the clear water, he notice they were just dropping down, taking a mouthful of food with irregularity. With this, he changed to fishing single yellow Mainline Cell hookbaits and small PVA bags to try and fool the wary fish.

"The change transformed my session, quickly leading to an 18lb mirror and a 28lb 8oz common shortly after. I used size 4, J Precision Curve hooks mounted on PB Products Jellywire hooklink, Trakker/Cygnet 2.5oz leads, and Korda Contour mainline," he told us.

"Then it happened, my very next bite saw me obliterate my personal best of 48lb 10oz, when the biggest fish in the lake slid over my net cord," he recalled.

"It’s an absolutely amazing creature, and it was a privilege to hold such a fish regardless of its weight. I retained the fish in the net, and Kris, the lake owner, was contacted. He came down and weighed the fish on his scales, which will be sent off for verification before any claim will be made.

"Waterside is an amazing venue. The place is extremely well run, and we could not fault the facilities that Kris provided. A huge thank you to Kris for allowing us to visit.

"I fished Harrison Accurix 2.75 tc rods with Daiwa reels. It was all very surreal, and after the fish was returned I sat and watched the sun come up with a cup of tea, with a feeling I couldn’t describe," he concluded.

What better way than to watch the sun. come up after slipping back the biggest in the land

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