Not all specimen fish have to be huge to be considered giants, and this was certainly the case when Jay Cleeve caught one of Britain's micro-species in the shape of this magnificent bullhead during a recent session.
Jay was fishing for the evening, as he often does, on a small stream close to his home in Lincolnshire when he caught the fish of a lifetime. He wasn't even aware that bullheads inhabited the stream he was fishing, so catching one of that magnitude was quite a shock for him.
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"With some time on my hands after work, I thought I would grab a couple of hours fishing on my river. It's only 5-6 feet at its widest, but it's always good for a few bites from loads of different species," Jay explained to us.
"I used a very light feeder with just a couple of split shot to keep it on the deck, and a size 18 hook with a small dendrobaena worm as bait."
"After casting out, it took all of two minutes to get a couple of heavy knocks on the tip, which were enough to make me strike."
"There wasn't much resistance on the end, but I knew I had a fish on, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the size of the bullhead that surfaced."
"I was shocked! I instantly knew it was a very special little fish and a new species for me on rod and line," Jay added.
"I got the bullhead unhooked and took my pictures before resting him for a few minutes and watching him swim off strongly. It was surreal to hold such a small fish, that was actually huge in my hand."
"My only regret was not having digital scales small enough to register his weight, but needless to say, I'll be going back with some, hoping I'm lucky enough to catch such a fantastic little fish again," he said.
The current record for a bullhead is a mere 1 oz, according to the British Record Fish Committee. This fish caught by Jay was definitely one that may have surpassed that weight and hopefully, if the two encounter each other again, he can confirm just how big this superb fish is!
ONE OF THE BEST SHORT FEEDER RODS IS PERFECT FOR FISHING ON SMALL, INTIMATE STREAMS.
