Is This The Biggest Ever Fish In A British Match?

60 lb 12 oz Cross Drove cat

12 maggots on a size 12

40-minute battle on carp rod

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IS THIS mighty 60lb 12oz catfish the largest fish ever caught during a UK match?

Precious few specimen anglers have ever landed a 60 lb British catfish… let alone a matchman!

But Dereham, Norfolk, angler Dave Bates achieved that improbable feat at his regular venue – Cross Drove Fishery, at Hockwold, on the Norfolk/ Suffolk border.

“I drew peg 32, the deepest on the lake, and a known winter haunt for catfish,” 57-year-old financial advisor Dave told Angler’s Mail.

“I started on pole, but had no response. I went out on a maggot feeder and had a couple of big twitches on the tip. The previous week I’d drawn next door and been smashed off, so I just thought: ‘I wonder?’”