UK fisherman catches 67lb monster goldfish

A UK angler will probably go down in the history books after catching what could be the biggest goldfish ever seen or heard of.

The monster fish was caught by Andy Hackett, 42, a Briton from Worcestershire, while fishing at Bluewater Lakes in Champagne, France.

The fish, nicknamed La Carotte, is not exactly a real goldfish. Instead, it is a unique blend of two species of carp: leather and koi.

“I always knew The Carrot was in there, but I never thought I’d catch it,” Hackett explained.

Hackett explains that it didn’t take him long to realize he had caught a special fish.

“I knew it was a big fish when it took my bait and went side to side and up and down with it,” Hackett said. “Then it came to the surface at 30 or 40 meters and I saw that it was orange.

“‘It was great to catch him but it was also luck,” he added.

The previous record for a goldfish or a goldfish species variant was set in 2019 when a Minnesota fisherman hauled in a 30-pound bigmouth buffalo believed to be 100 years old. “The Carrot”, a relatively young fish believed to be only 20 years old, officially weighed 67.4 pounds.

The good news for The Carrot, aside from suddenly becoming famous, is that he’s still alive and well. Hackett released the fish back into the lake (after posing for photos, of course), allowing it to put on even more weight so it could break its own record if it was unfortunate enough to be caught again.