Catfish [Species Menu] [Catfish articles] Common name: Wels catfish Latin name: Silurus glanis Record weight: Weight recognised by the British Record Fish Committee is 62lb caught by Richard Garner from Withy Lake in Bedfordshire in 1997. This fish is unlikely to be ever beaten as although several much larger fish have been caught the record…

Grass carp [Species Menu] [Grass carp articles] Common name: Grass carp Latin name: Ctenopharygodon idella Record weight: In recent years no other record has been in as much danger as the grass carp. With several huge fish dotted around the country, the record has been broken on several occasions in recent seasons. The latest angler…

Crucian carp [Species Menu] [Crucian carp articles] Common name: Crucian carp Latin name: Carassius carassius Record weight: Despite several fish being accepted and then dropped from the record list because of miss-identification, the current record of 4lb 8oz caught by Jay Allen from RMC Angling’s Summer pit is a fully authenticated record. Distribution: The crucian…

Tope [Species Menu] [Tope articles] Common name: Tope Latin name: Galeorhinus galeus Record weight: Despite being found primarily in shallow water, the biggest tope tend to be found by boat anglers. This is reflected in the record weights with a huge female of 82lb 8oz holding the boat record, compared to a fish of 58lb…

Brown trout [Species Menu] [Brown trout articles] Common name: Brown trout (sea trout) Latin name: Salmo trutta Record weight: Natural record is 25lb 5oz 12 drams, captured in 1996 from Loch Awe. Larger fish have been artificially reared and the cultivated record now stands at over thirty pounds. Distribution: Brown trout are amongst the most…

Thornback ray [Species Menu] [Thornback ray articles] Common name: Thornback ray Latin name: Raja clavata Record weight: One of the commoner ray species in many parts of the country, small thornbacks up to around ten pounds are very common. The current boat record stands at 31lb 7oz, whilst the shore best is 21lb 12oz. Distribution:…

Skate [Species Menu] [Skate articles] Common name: Common skate Latin name: Raja batis Record weight: One of our largest coastal fish, the common skate record is also one of the most likely to be broken. The main factor stopping to from being claimed at present is the lack of adequate weighing equipment aboard boats, for…

shark [Species Menu] [shark articles] Common name: Blue shark, Porbeagle shark, Mako shark Latin name: Prionace glauca, Lamna nasus, Isurus oxyrinchus Record weight: Sharks are the largest fish commonly encountered in the inshore waters of the British Isles, and this is reflected in their record weights. Blue sharks are the smallest and commonest of our…

coalfish [Species Menu] [coalfish articles] Common name: Coalfish Record weight: Not as big as other members of the cod family but still a good sized fish, particularly for the boat angler. The current shore best is a fish of 24lb 11oz 12 drams, whilst the boat best is held by a huge fish of 37lb…

Pollack [Species Menu] [Pollack articles] Common name: Pollack Latin name: Pollachius pollachius Record weight: One of the larger members of the cod family, although larger fish are only found off-shore. This is mirrored in the difference in the records with a boat caught best of 29lb 4oz and a shore caught best of 18lb 4oz….