ANGLING coach Kevin Sims thinks that he may have broken one the longest-standing British coarse fish records.
It might not be a monster but it is in the mini species world as it could be record minnow.
Seen above alongside Kevin’s five-inch long glasses, the fish weighed 1 oz 4 dr.
The chartered accountant caught the mini beast from the upper River Chelmer, in Essex.
Felsted, Essex-based Kevin didn’t think that it was near to the record at the time, so he put the fish back without seeking witnesses.
Kevin told Angler’s Mail: “I was roach fishing near to Felsted, in a swim where I usually catch nice dace, roach, brown trout and some chub. This time I caught the biggest minnow that I have ever seen.
“I put it in a small plastic bag and weighed it using digital scales, and it went over 1 oz 4 dr.
“It was only after sharing this information with friends that I realised it was a massive minnow.
“I can’t validate the weight, and the bag would have weighed something, but it was a fat minnow and at least 3 in.-long.”
The River Chelmer gave angling coach Kevin Sims some fine late-season sport.
Kevin continued: “The upper Chelmer is full of small brown trout and silver fish, and was fishing its head off.
“I fish the Blackwater, Stour and Chelmer, and regularly catch minnows, but I’ve never caught one as large as this before.
“It would be wonderful to give this fat little fish a platform.
“I’m sure I will get a bit of stick from my fishing buddies, as minnows are rarely targeted,” concluded the 55-year-old coach.
The official British minnow record stands at 13.5 dr. That fish was caught by James Sawyer at Whitworth Lake, near Spennymoor, County Durham, back in 1998.
In popularity survey, minnows beat bullheads to be the most popular of the UK’s freshwater mini species.
Gudgeon are also much-loved smaller fish. And the tiny stickleback had its British record officially broken in 2019, witnessed by the UK’s No.1 ‘fish twitcher’ and author, Jack Perks.
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