When Andy Hackett pulled his reel out of the water, he pulled out a “monster” with it.
Sort of.
After struggling for 25 minutes to capture the creature, Hackett pulled “The Carrot,” a 67 lb. 4 oz. carp from the water at BlueWater Lakes.
The Carrot just may be the second-largest fish of his kind to ever be caught.
He was determined to be a hybrid of a leather carp and a koi carp.
While his bright gold color made him easily visible below the water and his heavy frame makes him slow, Hackett said he had some trouble hooking him.
The Carrot is actually well known in the lake where people spend their days trying to catch and maim him before treating him for the injuries they sustained on him and throwing him back in the water.
“It’s a much sought-after fish, not many people have caught it, it’s quite elusive,” Hackett said.
The Carrot was placed in the water by BlueLakes, a fishery in France’s Champagne region, about 20 years ago as “something different for the customers to fish for.”
While he’s not the biggest fish in that lake, he has been deemed the most outstanding.
Once Hackett hooked the fish and pulled him out of the lake and deprived of oxygen, he was weighed, then thrown back in.
The fishery’s “no retention rule” prevents fishermen from bringing their catches on land.
They are also required to treat any injuries they caused the fish before throwing them back into the water.
The Carrot has been steadily growing since he was recently caught.
He was pulled out nine times by the fisherman last season when he weighed 60 lbs.
He swam free for nine months without being caught until Hackett hooked him.
While The Carrot looks just like a giant goldfish, he is not.
The Carrot is a member of the carp species, which also includes goldfish and koi.
These types of fish can grow to great sizes when given enough space, the right diet, and water conditions.
Some of the biggest fish in this family that are found are often pet goldfish that have been discarded.
“There are actually different kinds of carp that are relatives of goldfish, that get really big, that are found in Europe and Asia — some of which can get up to about 500 pounds,” Dr. Zeb Hogan, research biologist at the University of Nevada, Reno said.
The longer these kinds of fish live, the more they keep growing and getting larger.
So, The Carrot will likely be bigger the next time he is caught.
The fishery says that The Carrot is “in excellent health and condition.”
It is believed that he will live for another 15 years or so.
But not everyone will get to be graced with The Carrot’s presence.
The fishery has a five-year waiting list.
So, you’ll have to wait if you’d like to maim and release large fish that were put in a lake by men so you can weigh and take photos with them.
Watch The Carrot be placed back in the water in the video below.
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