South West venue breaks 40lb barrier in style - and with champagne!

Devon’s famous Anglers Paradise has produced its first ever 40lb carp.

Caught last week at a weight of 41lb 14oz, the specimen came from the complex’s Kracking Carp Lake and was banked by venue regular and former Drennan Cup winner Julian Chidgey.

The fish was tempted on freelined Richworth K-G-1 pellet tipped with a grain of fake corn just seconds after the first cast of the session.

“With temperatures high I decided to have a look around the Kracking carp lake and found five fish sat just below the surface among some weed. I wasn’t planning on fishing on the day but with a clear opportunity I quickly grabbed my stalking gear and headed back to the lake,” said Julian about the capture. “Previous attempts at surface fishing the lake had been fruitless, so I simply removed the lead from a standard bottom rig, popped a Richworth K-G-1 hookable pellet and grain of fake corn on the hair and swung the rig into position over the light weed.

“As the bait slowly sunk the largest carp instantly inhaled the freelined bait. After a short fight I managed to net the fish and rang the office for the staff to join me on the bank as I knew I had landed the fisheries first 40 pounder.”


Owner of Anglers Paradise, Zyg Gregorec, had promised to break out the champagne for the first 40 from the complex, and he was true to his word, opening a bottle for Julian on the bank.

“We’re very proud of this capture,” said a spokesperson for the venue. “A lot of hard work and time has gone into bringing these fish on. We’re now looking forward to seeing the next 40lb plus fish come out as we know the one Julian caught is not the biggest in the lake.”

Julian beat his fish using a Fox Horizon rod, 12lb Aquos mainline, a 15lb Cortex hooklink and a size 8 SSSP hook.

For details on guided fishing with Julian at Anglers Paradise, click here

For further information on Anglers Paradise, click here