Articles

The early 1990s saw an explosion of big and somewhat unknown carp being publicised in the media for the very first time. One of those was The Royal Forty, a fish that grabbed the attention of anglers around the country for over 20 years.

In August 2015 we came to learn that the iconic mirror carp had died. A worthy burial followed out of respect for one of the best to have lived and it was a reminder to many of us that nothing lasts forever.

Joe Kavanagh caught the great fish back in June 1994 at 41lb 8oz; in fact he was to catch it twice in quick succession that summer. His good friend John Gard was insistent that the lake held carp, as Joe wasn’t so sure, but on one red hot day he was to find it absolutely did as he saw an enormous mirror carp at the dam wall end of the lake, with another. Armed with bread, corn and luncheon meat the rest as they say is history.

Joe’s capture demonstrated the unique beauty of this park lake male mirror carp, which displayed such an incredible blend of colour on its flanks sporadically littered with golden sovereigns. A large tail and a sail-like dorsal fin that it regularly put to use often gave away its presence. It was a perfectly proportioned carp, a muscular fish that measured an incredible 39 inches in length when caught in later years.

There are two fishing lakes found in the middle of Richmond Park, both of which are situated in a shallow valley next to each other and are separated by a causeway. The small lake, otherwise referred to as Lower Penn Pond, measures six acres in size and was formed by gravel extraction.

Upper Penn Pond has a lengthier history within the park as it was originally dug to be used as a trench to drain a boggy expanse of land in the early 17th century. In more recent times the larger of the two lakes now measures 16 acres in size after also being dug for its gravel.

It is believed by a number of people that the stocking for Upper Penn Pond may have taken place in the year of 1965, although the mystery still remains. Richmond Park has plenty of challenges in store for the angler who wishes to pursue any fish that swims in the two Penn Ponds.

As is the norm with many park lakes around the country, especially the Royal Parks lakes, the rules state that fishing is days only, which certainly added to the difficulty of targeting the Royal Forty. With increased daytime temperatures and longer daylight hours comes an increase in the number of visitors to Richmond Park, and many of these people like to spend their time by the water’s edge. Families, dog walkers, bathers, boaters and horse riders will frequent the park in the summertime, many of whom are not aware of angling etiquette and have proved to test the patience of the angler over the years.

The same applies to the wildlife. The lakes are relatively shallow with an approximate average depth of around four feet, and the feeding of bread each day invites a phenomenal number of coots, mallards, tufted ducks, geese and swans. These birds also have a taste for anglers’ bait too.

In 1997 Steve Mogford decided to pit his wits against the low stock of carp that lived in Upper Penn Pond, with the largest fish in the lake on his mind. Having seen a photo of it in the past with a distinctive background behind the captor, Steve had a good idea where it lived so he decided to take a look around Richmond Park. His suspicions were confirmed and he began his quest in the height of summer when the park was at its busiest.

The big mirror could be found regularly due to the shallow nature of the lake and it would often sit with its tail and occasionally its dorsal too sticking out the water. This was to work in Steve’s favour when he located it doing the very same thing on Monday, August 11th 1997. After 22 afternoon sessions of fishing the lake, and plenty of frustration, a bait placed close to the fish in the evening soon saw him cradling a new personal best of 42lb 4oz.

Angling at Richmond Park follows the traditional fishing close season (March 15th to June 15th) and has done for several decades now. It is these three months of no fishing that not only give the fish a rest from angling pressure but give the anglers time to excitedly plan for the season ahead.

Throughout the years the Royal Forty had graced various anglers’ landing nets on the most magical day in the fishing calendar, the glorious June 16th. Some of the fortunate were Sam Healy in 2007, Jon MacAllister in 2008, Kelvin Mackenzie in 2010, Ben Allen in 2013 and Dan Whythe in 2014. Had it not been caught on the first day of the season then a summer appearance was likely, dependent on the number of anglers still fishing the lake at the park’s busiest time. The Royal Forty also made more than its fair share of end of season appearances too.

Ritchie McDonald was extremely well known in carp fishing by the time he came to learn of the whereabouts of the Richmond Park 40-pounder. Joe Kavanagh brought it to his attention by showing him a photo in Hounslow Angling Centre (where Ritchie worked) of the 41lb 8oz mirror he had caught twice in the summer of 1994. Ritchie was curious as to where the fish lived and Joe divulged, yet Ritchie was most surprised when he came to learn it was Richmond Park. Having visited the park and seen the very fish on his first look around the lake he made it his mission to catch it.

The inevitable capture of the fish was to become his fourth 40lb carp, each 40-pounder caught from a different water in 11 years, making him the first angler in Britain to do so. It was on March 14th, 1995 when Ritchie was to land the park’s largest carp weighing in at 40lb 8oz, a capture that he regards as his finest hour.

That capture will have no doubt inspired the majority of anglers who came to try their luck on Richmond Park, with one of those being Terry Hearn who obtained a ticket that summer and duly landed the Royal Forty at a new lake record weight of 42lb 2oz. In fact, the weight of this male carp fluctuated very little over the next 20 years. The differences in weight being the result of the free food being fed by anglers and members of public alike, as well as the abundance of natural food.

On the second day of the season in 2002, Tim Booker caught his fourth of the four mirror carp resident in the lake at the time, a milestone capture and a new lake record weighing 45lb. One of the largest, if not the largest the Royal Forty weighed was 48lb 8oz, caught by Alex West for the second time, the date was June 27th, 2006.

Nigel Sharp has always been an angler who likes to keep his finger on the pulse of news of big carp captures and Alex’s capture would have no doubt sparked his interest in settling his score with this fish. Furthermore, the mirror carp was also looking to be in absolute peak condition too.

An assault was planned for the end of the season in 2007 as he knew there was a possibility of the fish making an appearance with its previous track record. Relentless day sessions from the middle of February, 64-mile round trips through traffic for seven-hour fishing sessions each day at Richmond Park required grit and determination.

His efforts were eventually rewarded on March 13th, 2007 at midday with the Royal Forty looking as pristine as it has ever done and weighing 46lb 10oz. The same weight that Nigel caught Bazil at, from Yateley North Lake in 1996.

Credits

I still remember the first photo I ever saw of the Royal Forty. Nigel Sharp was holding the huge mirror carp aloft in the glorious spring sunshine, featured in the pages of Angler’s Mail in 2007. I would have the odd dabble over the years but wouldn’t fish there seriously until 2012. My chance came on a drizzly day at the beginning of September fishing the northwest corner of the lake, where I had been watching the fish for the past couple of days. The spot was close in as well as shallow so I could excitedly watch the lake;s largest picking up the freebies throughout the afternoon. I will never forget the moment when the left-hand rod melted off as the fish bolted off towards the middle of the lake. In my opinion the Royal Forty was the perfect big carp and to be able to write about the great fish in detail has been an absolute privilege. Delving into the long history of the great fish has revealed so many fantastic stories of the park lake giant and several of the anglers who also caught it have been very helpful with this piece. Their generosity with the supplying of the necessary details and photos from their captures of the aristocratic carp from years gone by will not be forgotten. Thanks to Joe Kavanagh (especially for our lengthy telephone call regarding your time fishing Richmond Park) as well as Ritchie McDonald, Steve Mogford, Tim Booker, Nigel Sharp, Luke Gray and Jon McAllister.