Villefond's Top 5 Carp of 50lb+

It has been a real pleasure to watch Villefonds fish grow into some real monsters and it has been discussed for a long time about which fish are going to be the next biggest caught so I decided to compile a list detailing the top 5 to date, as at January 2012;

1.  BIG JOHN

Big John is currently considered the lakes largest resident carp even though it was knocked off the top spot back in early 2011 when the number two big fish came out heavier. Big John is a extremely long common and has massive potential to grow huge and was the reining heavy weight champ right up to 2011, however Big John is a far longer fish and has never really been a fat fish or had big shoulders. One interesting fact about Big John is that it has never been caught during the night.

Heaviest weight to date; 51.2lb

Weight last caught; 50.2lb spawned out

Date of last capture; May 2011

Swim most caught from; 3

Prediction for the future; I think he could be well in front of the others right now as it was caught nearly a year ago spawned out at 50.2lb. Some of the other carp spawned out as much as 10lb! This means Big John could be sitting on the plus side of 60lb right now so the next capture of him will be very interesting.

2.  ARTHUR

Arthur is the owner of two titles, the first is the lake record for heaviest carp and the second is record for heaviest original carp as it is the biggest fish so far not stocked by us. Arthur is not nearly as long as Big John, it is a rather stockier common carp and it is also much darker in colour.

Heaviest weight to date; 53.6lb

Weight last caught; 53.6lb

Date of last capture; May 2011

Swim most caught from; 5 & 7

Prediction for the future; I believe Arthur won’t reach the heights of Big John because it is much shorter in length but because of Arthur’s character and it is a much more wild older looking common it will remain on most peoples to catch list.

3.  ARNOLD

Arnold came out of no where to make the top 5 and got the name Arnold because it had massive almost unbelievable shoulders like the famous Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold has had some of the most massive weight gains and if it keeps going could move up the rankings very quickly.

Heaviest weight to date; 50.10lb

Weight last caught; 50.10lb

Date of last capture; November 2011

Swim most caught from; 3 & 4

Prediction for the future; Arnold is quite often caught because of its massive appetite which made it so large and if it keeps going at the rate it is Arnold could be one to watch.

4. BENNETT’S

Named after one of its captors this fish is a real brute of a fish, it is a huge solid fish who hasn’t ever had big shoulders or a belly just a very large framed fish with a lot of potential. Bennett’s has had a tough year spawning heavily twice but it is expected to pack on size over winter again to fill its massive bulk.

Heaviest weight to date; 47.4lb

Weight last caught; 45.6lb

Date of last capture; September 2011

Swim most caught from; 5 & 7

Prediction for the future; Bennett’s has been up and down with its weight this year due to the fact they spawned out heavily twice but never dropped lighter than the low forties so given the bigger fish spawn up to 10lb he could well be going over 50lb after a good feed in winter.

5.  ROSE

Now 5^th place is really a tough call as many fish are now well into their forties and fish are still turning up in their forties which have never been caught before. Rose has only been caught four times herself in the four years since it was stocked. Rose came out of the blue to pip some of the other fish to the 5^th spot.

Heaviest weight to date; 45lb

Weight last caught; 45lb

Date of last capture; August

Swim most caught from; 7

Prediction for the future; Rose’s spot in the top five is going to be really tough to keep. With well in excess of 30 different fish over forty pound in weight now the competition is really tough. With so many fish biting at its heels and so many that haven’t been caught for a long time which could be already a lot heavier and the fact there are still fish coming out never caught before over forty pound I believe Rose’s rein as a top 5 fish is going to be short and glorious one. Rose is a stunning fish but unless it feeds and grows at the rate of some of the others Rose could just drop short of the top 5.

This top 5 list was made in January 2012 and will shortly be rearranged after the coming years fishing.