This fish REALLY was a top catch. It’s a 2.7 crucian carp and, as far as I’m concerned, it’s one of the stunners of the summer.
Now, if you look carefully, you will see that the bottom lobe of its tail fin has been snipped off. Don’t worry, it’s not an otter attack. Rather, this is a crucian that has been caught during a scientific survey and has been marked like this for future reference.
In East Anglia, there’s a lot of work being done on crucian populations with a view to increasing their numbers and returning them to former strongholds where populations have been lost.
This is a fabulous concept and if it results in more of us catching fish like this superb specimen, then it is to be applauded from the rooftops.