Scott Lloyd is 2017 winner
Top northern carper Scott Lloyd has been voted this year’s winner of the Carp-Talk Most Wanted competition, thanks to his capture of the mighty Burghfield Common at 62½lb. This is the second year the competition has been running, which was launched to highlight the ‘Most Wanted’ carp in the country and the anglers who dedicate so much of their lives trying to catch such special fish.
The 2017 competition saw the introduction of a ranking system, where fish were categorised as; bronze, silver, gold or platinum in stature. These grades were given points values of; one, two, three and five respectively. In the end Scott was one of two anglers who achieved five points during the 2017 competition. This meant the Carp-Talk panel was given the honour of choosing the winner, and Scott took the unanimous vote.
There is a reason the Burghfield Common is held in a class of its own as a Platinum Most Wanted Fish; it is the ultimate prize in UK carp fishing at the present moment in time. It lives in probably the most challenging lake in the country; you cannot fish 30 of its 90-acres and the big common itself only gets caught once every 18 months! So for Scott to land it just 11 months into his campaign after 50 nights of chasing it, it truly is an incredible achievement that cannot be ignored.
On the 12th April, Scott realised his dream. After a few trips and sightings, as well as unfortunately losing the great fish on his eighth visit, Scott figured out the Burghfield Common was a bit of a loner. The 28-year-old overhead linesman ended up landing just a handful of fish from the lake before he struck gold, while purposefully fishing in areas he had seen the big girl. During a phone call to his mum, Scott received the bite he had been longing for and connected with a powerful fish that ran him ragged. After a tense battle, navigating what must have felt like every snag and weedbed in the lake, the huge frame of the famous fish slid over the net cord. At 62½lb, the fish had grown considerably since its previous capture of 55lb by Dave Lane in June 2014.
Big fish angler Ed Betteridge was the one who tied with Scott on overall points achieved in the competition. The Pure Fishing carp media manager had a fantastic season, landing two Most Wanted fish; the gold ranked Colin at 50lb 10oz from St Ives Shallow Pit and the bronze ranked Leechy’s Common at 46lb 10oz from Kingsmead Island Lake. Simon Kenny came in third as the only angler to gain four points throughout this year’s competition. He landed two silver ranked fish in the same week with Stella at 44lb 7oz from the Essex Manor and TLC at 49½lb from Nunnery A Lake.
Scott Lloyd will be invited to the Carpin’ On Show at Five Lakes Crowne Plaza Resort in Colchester, Essex, on 17th – 18th March. He will be presented with a trophy on the Main Stage by Carp-Talk owner Bev Clifford.
The 2018 Most Wanted competition will be unveiled in the coming weeks. It will see an updated list of the country’s special carp so be sure to check it out. The grading system will remain the same as we believe it works well. A full list of Carp-Talk’s Most Wanted carp is available to view on our website: www.carptalk-online.co.uk.
