http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today...00/8182827.stm

Just seen this on the BBC website... I have carp fished back in the 70s and 80s but not since then. I have pretty strong views about this story and the message it sends out wondered what you think?

Great shame I suppose Andy, but we all have to go sometime.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

"death of the fish voted Britain's Favourite Carp"

WTF....who votes for their favourite carp???

Imagine having a vote for 'Britain's favourite trout'....then again Esta Rantzen may get voted in next election.

Mixed feelings really. it's a foreign fish introduced and fed massively to get to that size, but it gave a lot of people a lot of pleasure so i can understand how people are upset at her death.

Caught 63 times though, i guess at least she can now rest in peace at last!

Did a bit of carp fishing bad in the 90's, but never really took to it. To loose Benson will be a big loss to the carp fishing community and I'm sure she will be greatly missed.
Not sure on the message that this news item will send out to the non-fishing community other than a fish has died and what is all the fuss about.
No doubt the anti's will pick up on it and put it down to cruelty in the extreme.

Perhaps you could enlighten on your strong views.

Plumpy

Thing is, a lot of these big carp are named by the people that hunt them. there's Two Tone, Heather, The Creature, The Amphibian, Sally, The Scarred Mirror etc etc that i know of. Probably because theyre caught so often!

Look, there is a time and plaice for everything but I hope the media doesnt carp on about this for much longer as it is a below par story


All jokes aside, yes, many large carp are named and targeted by serious speciman boile-bashers and this in turn brings alot of money to the area, fishing shops and the fishery. But, I really hope that PETA and the like dont get hold of this and trumpet and bleat about breeding big fish just for capture........."oooh, how cruel you all are"

Still, a sad lose due to what seems an ill-informed fisherman feeding un-cooked nuts into the water (strange not more fish died though)


Ben

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just heard keith arthur on talksport on about it and rumours say its death could be caused by tiger nuts and or peanuts ????

but in reality its just a fish ????

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WHEN YOU LEAVE THE RIVER, TAKE NOTHING, AND LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINT'S!!!

THA CAN TELL A YORKSHIREMAN ,BUT THA CAN'T TELL HIM MUCH !!

Some of the big barbel in the famous (notorious ?) stretches of the Upper Great Ouse around Newport Pagnell also have names - The Pope and so on.

I have mixed feelings, I suppose. Surely a carp - tough as old boots - comes to no more harm when being caught, handled properly on the bank and quickly released than a horse does when it's raced. As BB says the fish has given a lot of anglers pleasure, and seemed to have been in tip top condition for a long time in the photos I have seen .

On the other hand - pet names for fish ?! Aw, come ON . WTF would John Gierach say ? Bernard Venables must be revolving at high speed in his grave...

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
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just checked ,the owner thinks its nuts to...



Fishermen mourn death of a carp
Angler: Benson was a phenomenal fish ... absolutely gorgeous
Anglers in Cambridgeshire are mourning the death of what is believed to be Britain's biggest common carp.

Nicknamed Benson, the carp swam in the Bluebell Lakes at Oundle near Peterborough, but was found floating on the surface poisoned by uncooked nuts.

He was introduced into the lakes in 1995, and at the time of his death weighed 64lb (29kg), was aged between 20 and 25 and had been caught 63 times.

Now Benson is lying in a deep freeze waiting to be be put on display.

'People's fish'

Tony Bridgefoot, owner of Bluebell Lakes, told BBC News that he thought the fact anglers did not have to join an expensive fishing syndicate but could fish on a day ticket meant the carp was accessible to everyone, making Benson "the people's fish".

"They sort of adopted it and took it to their hearts, and if you were lucky enough to catch the fish or even see the fish it was perfectly clear what a beautiful creature it was.

"Some people would catch it within two or three days of fishing here and I've had some people who've spent five, six, seven years just to try and catch that one fish."

Mr Bridgefoot believes Benson was poisoned by uncooked nuts, which are toxic to fish.

"Our suspicions arose when we found some uncooked nuts in the margins and we found some uncooked nuts in the skips that we use.

"Consequently we're very suspicious that some uncooked bait may have gone in the water.
"Benson may have picked them up and in that case they would swell up inside the fish.

"The outcome is catastrophic

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WHEN YOU LEAVE THE RIVER, TAKE NOTHING, AND LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINT'S!!!

THA CAN TELL A YORKSHIREMAN ,BUT THA CAN'T TELL HIM MUCH !!