Personal Bests

As a boy I owned a set of Little Samson scales that weighed up to 4lbs in 1oz increments. They were perfect for me as it was rare to catch anything that was so big I couldn't weigh it.( I must have bought another set at some point as I remember my best carp was from Meadowcliffe pool and weighed 5lb 3oz).
This may have had something to do with how I fished - light lines, small hooks and generally maggots as bait in the numerous small ponds in the Forest of Dean. In those days I was just happy to catch fish. It was more about quantity rather than quality. As I improved my skills I did begin to target species more and move towards the bigger bait, bigger hook and hopefully bigger fish type approach. I read Peter Stone and Dick Walker and followed to some degree the approach they espoused.
 Alas, although the waters I fished did undoubtedly hold some bigger specimens, my catches remained modest and a list of personal bests from that time would see me having managed a perch of 2lb 2oz ( caught on the Hampshire Avon whilst on holiday one summer), a chub of 2lb 12oz ( from the River Lugg at Marden), a tench of 1lb 12oz, a roach of 1lb 1oz and the carp mentioned above- a battered old looking common if memory serves me well.
Of course everything has changed now with digital cameras recording any number of moments for posterity or even this blog and many species of fish growing to ever increasing size. I still find it hard to judge the weight of some fish and use a set of digital scales now to check. This has become increasingly important given my quest for that elusive 2lb+ roach. In fact I have become quite good at judging the weight of roach but find say tench or carp much harder to estimate.
Here then is my current ( although not exhaustive ) list of personal bests. Some species are missing as I have never caught them - a barbel for instance and although I have caught dace and grayling in the past they were never weighed just admired. I did once catch an enormous gudgeon on the River Wye but didn't think to weigh it.

Bream 4lb 7.5oz
Carp  11lb 8oz
Crucian Carp  1lb 10oz
Chub 3lb  4oz
Eel 1lb 10oz
Perch 2lb 13oz
Pike 8lb 4oz
Roach 1lb 14oz
Rudd  7oz
Tench 3lb 2oz

As I said modest fish for nowadays but for me it's the catching and the day itself that is so often more important than just putting a number on the fish. That said I will continue to weigh and photograph any special fish and update the list accordingly.

2lb 10oz male Tench from the Leeds Liverpool Canal