Man Caught a Gigantic 67-Pound Goldfish Nicknamed "The Carrot"
“I never thought I would catch it.”
A British angler in France has caught the fish equivalent of a unicorn—the long-elusive goldfish known as The Carrot. The Carrot is more than 20 years old and weighs in at a whopping 67 lbs 4oz, making it one of the world's largest goldfish. "I always knew The Carrot was in there but never thought I would catch it," says angler Andy Hackett, 42, who spent 25 minutes reeling the giant beast in. Here's how he caught the monster goldfish—and what ended up happening to the secretive amphibian.
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The Carrot lives in a fishery in France called Bluewater Lakes, started by British man Jason Cowler. Cowler put the goldfish into the fishery in Champagne, France, more than 20 years ago. During that time, the fish (a combination of leather carp and koi carp) has grown to monstrous proportions and has rarely been seen. Keep reading to learn more and see the video.
Hackett, a company director from Worcestershire, UK, is thrilled at his luck. "I always knew The Carrot was in there but never thought I would catch it," he says. "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."
It took Hackett 25 minutes just to reel the giant fish in. After catching The Carrot, Hackett posed for pictures with his trophy while still standing in the water. After the pictures were taken, The Carrot was released safely back into the fishery, and Hackett celebrated with a well-earned cup of tea.
Fishery manager Cowler is impressed that someone was finally able to catch the slippery goldfish. "We put The Carrot in about 20 years ago as something different for the customers to fish for," he says. "Since then it has grown and grown but it doesn't often come out. She is very elusive. She is in excellent health and condition. Congratulations to Andy on a great catch."
The Carrot has 30 pounds on what was previously considered the world's largest goldfish, caught in 2019 in Minnesota, US, by fisherman Jason Fugate. She is also twice as large as a 30lb bright orange koi carp caught in 2010 in the south of France by Italian fisherman Raphael Biagini.
