Nick Richards spent two days fishing in a lake near his parents’ vacation house in the appropriately named Dorset city of Poole. He had a good reason for fishing there. Says 16-year-old Nick, “I’d heard rumours there might be some big carp there and thought I’d see for myself.” However, Nick landed something more unusual than a carp when he snagged a 5-pound, 16-inch-long goldfish from within the lake’s murky water!
“I was there for two days running and caught some big common carp,” said the teenager. “Then suddenly I saw this big orange fish cruising along the top of the lake. At first I thought it must be a really fat koi carp, but when I saw it properly I realised it was a common goldfish – just like one you might keep as a pet. It looked like it was healthy and in good condition. The lake is sheltered with plenty of food, so it’s doing pretty well. Earlier in the day I’d joked that if I caught a big fish I’d call it Billy, so of course the goldfish got the name.”
Billy the goldfish might be the largest goldfish ever landed in the wild, but nobody knows for sure as no fishing organization in England keeps records of ornamental fish caught in the wild. As for Billy, he’s still wild: after taking the picture with his catch to prove it’s real, Nick let Billy go again. “I put him back in the lake straight away,” said Richards. “Some people have said that if I do catch him again though it might be an idea to give him to someone who has a big tank.”
Tags: giant goldfish, teen catches giant goldfish in lake, 5-pound goldfish landed in lake, Nick Richards, Poole, Dorset, England, largest goldfish ever caught in Britain, unusual fish, unusual animals, Billy the goldfish