Fisherman lands nearly 50kg grass carp after 15-minute battle

A fisherman from Niš has landed a massive catch at Bovansko Lake, reeling in a grass carp weighing a remarkable 48.5 kilograms. Goran Đorđević, 45, made the impressive catch on June 17 while fishing with his 10-year-old son, turning a planned day of swimming and fishing into an unforgettable event.

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The fight lasted about 15 minutes, and when I pulled the fish out, we couldn't believe it. It barely fit in the boat.

Đorđević, an avid angler who frequently fishes at Bovansko Lake, described the struggle to land the enormous fish. "The fight lasted about 15 minutes, and when I pulled the fish out, we couldn't believe it. It barely fit in the boat," he recounted. The fish measured an impressive 130 centimeters in length.

While Đorđević had hoped to catch a catfish, he was taken by surprise by the sheer size and species of the grass carp. He noted that the fish's weight required organizing special transport and sourcing a large scale to confirm its dimensions. This catch significantly surpasses his previous personal best, a 4.3-kilogram zander.

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We didn't expect it. Afterwards, it all required organizing transport, as well as getting a large scale to see how much the fish weighed.

Interestingly, Đorđević did not release the grass carp back into the lake. He explained that grass carp are considered an invasive species that can endanger the local fish population, and regulations prohibit their return to the water. Although his catch was substantial, it was not a lake record, as two anglers caught a 54-kilogram grass carp there last summer.

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It means a lot to me that my son witnessed all of this, and also that I know that, at least in theory, a grass carp can weigh up to 50 kilograms.