In a rare catch, a British fisherman was left stunned after he laid his hands on one of the world's biggest goldfish, New York Post reported. The gigantic orange specimen, aptly nicknamed The Carrot, weighs a whopping 67lbs 4ozs. (30.5 Kg). It is 30lbs (13.6 kg) heavier than what was considered to be the world's biggest goldfish, caught by Jason Fugate in Minnesota, US, in 2019.
Notably, 42-year-old Andy Hackett caught the fish while fishing at Bluewater Lakes in Champagne, France, one of the world's premier carp fisheries, the outlet further said in its report. The fish is a hybrid species of leather carp and koi carp, which are traditionally orange.
"I always knew The Carrot was in there but never thought I would catch it," Mr Hackett said, after his fishing victory.
It took Mr Hackett 25 minutes to chase and catch the fish. "'I knew it was a big fish when it took my bait and went off side to side and up and down with it. Then it came to the surface 30 or 40 yards out and I saw that it was orange. It was brilliant to catch it but it was also sheer luck," Mr Hackett told New York Post.
Meanwhile, pictures of the ''Carrot'' have made a splash on social media. A Facebook page called Bluewater Lakes shared three pictures of the smiling fisherman holding the gigantic fish in his hands. The post has been captioned, '' CARROT, weighing in @67.4lbs!! Well done Andy top dangling.''
See the pictures here:
Many were left in awe and congratulated the fisherman for the stunning catch. One of the comments read, "Have seen it jump a few times when I've been there but didn't realise the size of it. That's a stunner! Well done.'' Another said, "Well Done Andy on the Capture of the stunning Carrot..Nice to see her out at long last.''
This particular specimen, which is reportedly 20 years old, was apparently introduced to the lakes 15 years ago "as something different for the anglers to try to catch," Blue Water Lakes spokesperson Jason Cowler told USA Today.
After posing for photographs with the fish, Mr Hackett released it safely in the lake and celebrated with a cup of tea afterwards.
