'Monster' carp caught at Dinton Pastures lake

A ‘monster’ carp has been caught in a Dinton Pastures lake by experienced fisherman Spencer Lunn.

The 52-year-old avid angler from Wokingham was enjoying his weekly session at the country park in Hurst when he reeled in ‘Spike’, one of Black Swan Lake's 15 larger ‘A-team’ carps.

Weighing-in at 64lb 8oz, it is just 3lb 3oz off the British record of 68lb 1oz and is known to have gained four to five pounds each year over the last six years.

Spencer said that he was ‘over the moon’ when he caught the heavyweight on December 23.

“It was like an early Christmas present,” he said.

“It was the fish of a lifetime.

“When I first got to know that I had a bite (I’ve got bite alarms) and the spools started spinning, I hooked into it and it kept taking more and more line.

"It was 9 o’clock at night and it went through a couple of weed beds and then when I managed to get it in and looked at it, it was incredible, huge, enormous," he said. 

A friend snapped the photo of Spencer with his prize catch which he likened to ‘holding a five-year-old child in front of you longways’.

Spencer started fishing at the age of six and took up carp fishing six years later.

He joined Dinton Pastures Country Park in 2011 and credits the catch to the nutrient-rich waters which are managed by Simon Bartlam for Wokingham Borough Council.

“I have fished in other waters but Dinton is the best,” he said. “It is known throughout the country as one of the top carp waters," he added.

“It’s a very biodiverse lake, a typical gravel pit with a very good water quality. Carp grow very well in there plus all the anglers feed them very good bait.”

The lakes were last stocked in 1991 and Spike was first caught in 2006 and approximately eight or nine times since then.

Spencer said that he will carry on with his weekly fish but the chances of catching Spike again are ‘pretty slim’.

“If it survives another year – because it’s getting quite old now; it’s 30 - and maybe doesn’t get caught and grows at the current rate it may well tip the scales if somebody catches it and then we may produce the next British record."

And Spencer doesn't mind if someone else claims the title. 

 “We’re a close knit community. Obviously there is a bit of fishing rivalry but it’s all good natured about whose fishing where and we’re all really good friends. 

“I love fishing, I love being outdoors. I love nature, I love seeing the seasons change and I’ll be fishing in all weathers, unless it’s frozen of course.”

Spike has been returned to Black Swan Lake, one of several lakes at Dinton Pastures, and Wokingham Borough Council has confirmed that the waiting list for fishing licences at the country park is closed.

Larger carp have been caught in this country but not officially recorded.