An angler is celebrating after catching Britain’s biggest ever carp using white chocolate as bait.
Bricklayer Nigel Ludbrook, 49, is used to hauling heavy loads but nothing could prepare him for the 68lb 8oz (4.9 stone) specimen he caught.
The huge beast, nicknamed ‘Captain Jack’, is 7oz heavier than the current UK carp record, ‘The Parrot’ which died earlier this year.
Mr Ludbrook toasted the catch with a beer and steak dinner as he didn’t fancy fish.
Bricklayer Nigel Ludbrook, 49, caught Britain’s biggest ever carp – weighing 68lb 8oz – using white chocolate as bait while fishing at Holme Fen fishery in Colne, Cambridgeshire
He was around 24 hours into a two-day fishing trip at the Holme Fen fishery in Colne, Cambridgeshire, when the monster from the deep went for his special bait mix which included white chocolate and brill.
After reeling it in, Mr Ludbook weighed it and posed for pictures before returning it to the water safe and well.
He and friend Richard Read, who were on the trip to celebrate them both turning 50 this year, carried on fishing before celebrating with a steak dinner.
Mr Ludbook said: ‘When it first took my bait, I could tell it was a good fish but I had no idea it would be the size it was.
‘When it first came out of the water, I was shocked, stunned, and to be honest, shaking like a leaf. My previous best carp was 35lb – I’d never even seen a fish that size before.
‘We pulled it out and my friend Richard helped me weigh it and take pictures before we threw it back. Once we’d finished, me and Richard celebrated with a bottle of San Miguel and steak.
‘I just feel lucky really. It just happened to be me that caught that fish at that weight.’
Mr Ludbrook has confirmed he will submit the catch to the British Record Fish Committee which will judge the claim.
A spokesman for the BRFC said: ‘As yet, we have not received any claim for the UK carp record.
‘If a claim is made, the committee will judge it independently and on its own merits, but as yet, no claim has been made.’