Dean Fletcher: It's a new British record!

t’s 3:43pm on Wednesday 13th January and CARPology is driving along an unusually quiet A14, heading back to Suffolk after an ad sales meeting in Sheffield. The phone rings. It’s Pete Regan. “Yeah, hello Joe, it’s Peter. Have you heard, Dean’s broken the British record?” Within a matter of minutes we’d posted the news onto our social media feeds and the carp fraternity was alive with the excitement of a potentially new British record. Tweets retweeted; Facebook posts shared; Instagram images screen grabbed and then reposted: this is news reporting in 2016.

Fortunately, a week after all this madness and hype had calmed down, I managed to spend a day with Dean Fletcher, the newly crowned British record holder, to get the full and detailed story of how he wrote himself in the history books…

Let’s start right from the beginning, Dean, when did you first apply for a ticket at Cranwells Lake and how many years did it take to get in?
I applied for a ticket when a friend at work caught The Parrot at 57lb; that was some 12 years ago, but it took me seven years to get a ticket for Cranwells.

How many years have you now been on Cranwells?
This is my third season.

Aside from the big girl, The Parrot, what back up fish are in here?
The five big girls are: The Saddleback Common, which has been out to 48lb something; then you’ve got The Floppy Tail Linear which has done 47lb. You’ve got Vainy Belly which is 43lb; there’s The Big Simmo at 48lb and you’ve got the Ghosty Common which Terry Hearn just caught at 40lb and ounces. Plus there’s another common which scrapes 40lb at the right time of year. There’s a couple on the missing list, but then there’s fish that get caught that no one has seen for years – a 37lb common came out recently that no one has seen. There’s plenty of fish in here; a lot of mid-thirties and all gorgeous looking carp.

So how did that first year pan out and what was your initial approach?
“My initial approach was to go on Pete Regan’s ‘Meat’ bait that I’ve caught everywhere on so I was confident in the bait before I even came on to the water. I didn’t have any doubts about it. The season starts in August here so I started fishing one rod over a lot of bait, one rod over a small amount and the other on the singles to see how it all panned out and not to put all my eggs into one basket. It soon became apparent that they liked a lot of bait from the word go, so that was the approach.

You’re now into your third season, has your approach changed at all and if so, why?
“The only thing I’ve been adding to my mix in the last season is a bit of hemp and that’s only because previous captures of The Parrot have come when hemp is part of the baiting scenario. That’s the only thing I’ve been adding to my boilies, which I fish both whole and chopped. Whilst a lot of people have success with particles on here, it’s not really my thing and I just believe that boilies pick out the bigger fish.

Impressively, you’ve had 87 fish during the three years, has one year been more prolific than the others?
This year, my third season, has been very good. I’ve caught five forties including the big girl. In comparison, I only had one forty in the first season and none in the second season, but I did catch a lot of thirties and shed loads of twenties. But yes, this season has been the most prolific by far with those five forties and a 68lber!

Why do you think there was such a big jump in the number of big fish you’ve caught this year compared to years one and two?
I just think the bait is really established now. If you’re using good quality bait, the more you use it, the more the fish get on it and the easier it makes your fishing. You’ve just got to be confident in your bait. I’ve had the same thing on other waters, as the seasons roll on, the results just get better and better, especially with the bigger fish.

One of five forties Dean has caught during his third season on Cranwells: Vainy Belly

Another brute from Season Three for Dean

What bait do you use, how often do you feed during a session, and how much importance do you place on a good bait?
I place a huge level of importance in a good bait. I’ve been using the same bait for at least 15 years now which is Pete Regan’s Meat One. However, this year I’ve been using his Meat Two which is practically the same base mix but with a few added bits to it. I always bring at least seven or eight kilos with me because sometimes, especially in the spring, the fishing can be pretty hectic down here and you can get through a lot of bait. I also like to bait up when I leave so the bait’s continually going in and working for me.

Do you use different sizes or do you use all 18mms?
I use different sizes and I chop them up as well with one of the Korda Kutters and I try and spread them out a bit so you get the fish hunting for the baits.

Let’s just touch on rigs now: what do you use and why?
I’ve used quite a few different rigs this last season. I’ve always been pretty basic on rigs: the Knotless Knot in essence. In terms of hooks, I’m a big fan of the size 4 Claw from Atomic; I very, very rarely drop fish and they’ve very rarely let me down when it comes to strength. In fact, I think I’ve only had one snap in ten years of using them. Last year I started playing around with the 360ş Rig, which at first seemed to catch me a few extra fish but then I started dropping a few, so for this season I’ve gone back to basics: a pop-up fished really low to the bottom with a Atomic Jelly Wire hooklink and a size 4 Claw hook; it’s pretty basic really, but it’s strong and reliable.”

You have an extremely limited amount of angling time, so how do you maximise it and get the most out of it?
I never fish more than one venue; I always stick to just one venue each year I’m fishing. There are a lot of good anglers on Cranwells, a lot of friendly people – no secret squirrels – so you find out what is coming out all the time and I just try and get on the fish every time I come down really. Basically learning the water, learning where they are going to be at what time of the year and conditions and all the rest of it. I’m just trying to put the bits of the jigsaw together. And I’ve always got my eyes peeled. The biggest problem with only doing one night is that sometimes in the morning, you get up at first light to find the fish, you find them, but then you’ve got to go home.

Can you just run us through what your average session is like?
I normally get to the lake around one or two in the afternoon as I work nights. I then fish that night and I have the next day off so I fish to around two/three in the afternoon before I go back home and start again with work at midnight.

Bait boats appear to play a huge role in most anglers’ fishing here on Cranwells. Do you use one and how much of an advantage do you think they are on this lake?
Yes, I do use a bait boat as well as casting. I’ve caught on both styles but I think boats offer a massive advantage; you can’t beat a bait boat in terms of accuracy and distance. A lot of the spots on here are out on the island, which is what, 150yds away. The people that don’t use a bait boat on here are the ones who struggle, well, except for one or two.

With everyone using them though, how do you do things differently i.e. baiting patterns?
I still catapult baits out and spread the baits. I try and get a spread and I just try and do things a bit different – slicing the baits up, chopping them up, bits of hemp and so on.

Feature-wise, what are you looking for?
Gullies and bars. I like to fish the gullies – anything where it goes up and down as a roadway. The lake is like an egg box, you’ve got gullies that are ten-foot deep and then a rod length away they’re two-foot deep.

As a whole, the lake is quite shallow and it has quite a big population of swans. Have they caused you any headaches and if so, how do you overcome the problems?
They are an absolute nightmare! Basically if you are fishing The Shallows, which are swan-depth, you’ve got to fish tiny bags or singles and you just keep recasting as they get near. It’s a pain, but that’s the only way to overcome the issue.”

Doing battle with another one of the venue’s A Team...

So: can you talk us through the record-breaking session then?!
When I arrived, I found my friend Lee, who’s a bailiff, was in the swim that I fancied from the week before. I know you shouldn’t have preconceived ideas but in the winter they don’t seem to move very far. I’d seen fish the week before, and although I didn’t catch anything, I had seen them topping in front of me so I was a bit gutted when I saw Lee in the swim.
I walked down and had a chat and he said he’d seen fish that day. While we sat there chewing the fat, I saw a fish about 200yds away to his right just stick its head out. ‘Well, that’s me sorted’ I though so I nipped over there to have a look. I then saw another one so I got my baits out sharpish.

“I fished two at long-range and one in short at 50yds in about five-foot of water. It’s a gully that runs across the shallows, about a rod length wide. Most of the shallows are about three-and-a-half, four-foot, but like I say, this gully goes down to five-foot; it’s exactly 20 wraps on the rod.”

“Once the rods were sorted, I set the bivvy up and laid out the bedchair before Lee arrived for a cuppa. Just as I was pouring the milk, Lee said, “Your rod tip has just knocked mate.” With that, the bobbin pulled up tight and away it went. I lifted into what was clearly a heavy weight and was just moving very slowly.

As it neared the shallower water, its tail came out of the water – something The Parrot is well-known for doing – and remember, I’m only fishing five-foot of water and it’s 41-inches long that fish. At that moment my knees went a bit wobbly! But I have had other fish that do that to me before and I’ve thought it’s been The Parrot and it’s not been.

It came in quite easily but then it started kiting so I put the chesties on. I waded out a bit to give it come side-strain and managed to turn it. It then came towards me and it dived into the bottom and in to some weed – another thing it’s known for doing. With that a huge release of bubbles came rushing to the surface, at which point I turned to Lee and said, “There’s a lot of weight on this; if it’s not a massive weedbed, then this could be The Parrot.”

It came to the surface with weed over its head so I couldn’t see exactly what fish it was but it was clearly huge. As it went in to the net, I said to Lee, “That’s either The Floppy Tail Linear or The Parrot.” But I did have an inkling it was the latter. I then pulled the weed off its head and I was right, it was The Parrot, at which moment I leapt around the swim, screaming and shouting!”

The Saddleback Common

Were you expecting it to be that weight?
No. But I was expecting it to be around 66lb – I’d have put money on it. It came out in September at 64lb and with some of the other fish well up in weight, I did expect it to be a couple of pounds heavier this time around. But that said, Terry recently caught The Floppy Tail Linear at 44lb, which is down so we weren’t 100% sure. We could see it was big when it came in and when we got it on the mat she looked brand-new – some of the previous white slimy spots she’d had on her before were all gone and healed.

We unhooked her quickly and I bit the line in the net and got her on to the unhooking mat. The scales were zeroed to the retention sling and then I asked Lee to read the scales as we lifted the storm pole onto our shoulders.

“What does it say?”

“Errr, errr, errrr,” he mumbled away. “You better look at this.”

“Tell me what it is!”

“No, you come round and have a look at it.”

So we swapped places and lifted it again.

“F*** me, it’s over 68lb!”

“Yeah, I know. That’s what I’m reading!”

“F*** me, that’s a record!”

So then I went in to sort of panic station. It was daylight then and about half an hour before it got dark so we took some quick snaps on my camera before the light completely went. Mark, who runs the estate, had to come down with his scales to weigh it accurately and also Roy, my mate, who’s a great photographer, was going to come out and do some shots for me. We placed her back in the retention sling and waited for them to turn up. Once Roy arrived, we weighed her again and took some proper photographs.

Lump

And it was 68lb 1oz?
Yeah, 68lb 1oz. It went 68lb 2oz on my Reubens and on Mark’s Reuben Digitals it went 68lb 1oz, so I called it 68lb 1oz. Now we’re just waiting to hear back from Weights and Measures.

Have you heard back from Weights and Measures? Have you heard anything from the British Record Fish Committee?
“Yeah, I’ve done all the paperwork for the British Record Fish Committee. The scales are being tested at the moment – today actually – so I might find out later today. (Footnote: it has now been confirmed that The Parrot did weigh 68lb 1oz. Many congratulations, Dean!)

What happened afterwards? So you’ve done the photographs…
So we’d done the photographs and then I phoned my girlfriend, my brother and a couple of mates before I had to turn my phone off as it just went in to meltdown. so I In total I received over 200 text messages! The swim was a hive of activity for a few hours and then everyone left, leaving just Roy and me giggling like kids looking at the photographs!

Everyone said to me I should have bought a bottle of champagne and go and get pissed, but I had to work the next night and it was freezing cold. I never did put the rod back out, I just left the two that were out. Roy left me about half past 10/11 o’ clock, and with it being cold, about minus-five, I got in my sleeping bag and just spent the night giggling to myself. Every time I woke up I just burst out laughing!

“I couldn’t believe it!”

Ladies and gentlemen: here’s your new British record holder, Dean Fletcher

What’s happened since with the newspapers, radio etc?
It’s just gone in to meltdown. Nigel Botherway phoned me up and asked if I would go on his Fisherman’s Blues radio show; it’s been in the local papers and Berkshire radio got on to me. And I’m now told it’s on the BBC website.

There’s been people come out of the woodwork all over the place congratulating me. It’s a bit weird for a fish really. It’s not like a sporting event where you’ve trained for it or anything like that. I’ve had people at work coming up and shaking my hand; I’ve even done two selfies! Ruth at Yateley Angling Centre took a photograph of me holding the Anglers Mail and then I had to go from there to a little tackle shop in Reading where I had to have pictures shaking the owner’s hand!

Have you taken it all in now?
I have really. One of the nicest things was, the next morning, after the capture, Oz Holness, the previous record holder, phoned me. He told me off for nicking his record and we had the crack! He said I’d got to do it all properly because it’s history and all the rest of it. All the feedback has been really positive, and there’s hardly been any idiots – well, a couple said I didn’t hold it out far enough! Come on, it’s 68lb and I’m not Popeye! But yes, it is slowly starting to sink in now. The other weird thing is, when you see people in the magazines and you see their PBs, now no one in this country has caught a bigger carp than me, that really is weird!

Can you see the fish getting bigger?
Yeah, I can see it getting bigger. Funny enough, Roy phoned me today and asked if I’d seen the long-range weather forecast. Apparently it’s not going to be so much warmer in the spring, but just constant, which is always conducive for good fishing. If it carries on feeding and if the weather stays like this and we don’t get a cold snap, then I can definitely see it’ll be bigger next time it’s on the bank.

Does it have a habit of coming out a few times in quick succession?
Yes. Once it came out on a Friday and then again on a Sunday, and it had gone up in weight by 2oz in the days in between. However, when Bernie caught it last November, it weighed 64lb but then it came out in spring at 62lb, so who knows. Personally I think it will carry on now until it’s 70lb. It’s got the length, and it’s not like it’s bursting at the seams. Plus, there’s plenty of food going in all the time.

And finally, Dean, what’s the plan now? Moving on to another venue or are there still fish in here to go at?
No, I think I’ve caught everything I wanted to catch out of here, so it’s time to move on. I’m not one for staying on once I’ve caught my target fish; I feel like you’re nicking someone else’s dreams if you catch it again. I run my own syndicate, Tippings Lane Syndicate, and I’ve always just flirted about with the place, so I might fish that this spring. There’s two forties in there that I’d like to catch so I’ll do a bit down there probably.