When my friends and I began to join the 'specimen hunting' groups years ago, the fish that we were proud to catch then seem much less significant now that freshwater fish of several kinds are being landed from certain venues at remarkably high weights.
Some of us spent many hours and travelled great distances in an attempt to catch a tench that weighted as much as six pounds.
Now you need a tench of over 15lbs to come near to breaking the new record size.
And whereas the biggest carp that had been caught when I was a young angler was surpassed by a 26-pounder that held the record for many years have rocketed in size to the present-day fish that pulled the scales down to almost 66lbs!
My favourite fish – the barbel — has simply astonished us all by piling on the pounds in recent years.
Whereas the record for barbel was shared by three different fish which each weighed 14lbs 6oz and the average weight of Trent barbel was under three pounds, many barbel exceding the old weight are being landed with one of over 21lbs included.
Not all fisheries follow this trend, of course, and the waters that are currently producing the real whoppers are often fished by anglers who have paid a lot of money to gain access to the hot-spots.
Some other species are now higher on the record list too but I have a strong feeling that most of the places that have become famous for big fish of certain species are also those fisheries where the fish have access to lots of free samples of very nutritious food that specimen hunting boys throw in as an attractant, including boilies and various meats, though there must surely be other factors onvolved too.
Where game fish, especially rainbow trout, are being landed from a variety of fisheries though, the reason for the rapid growth of these short-lived fish is due to fish breeders who have found out how to feed the rainbows up to a huge size for sale to fishery owners who try to get the maximum publicity for their fisheries.