Kevin Elliott's Potential British Record Golden Grey Mullet

POTENTIAL BRITISH RECORD GOLDEN GREY MULLET

Kevin Elliott of Brixham SAC has been enjoying a really good run and catching some most exceptional fish.  It’s more than good luck.  Kevin is a very accomplished recreational sea angler.  Recently Kevin caught a Plaice of 4 lbs 1 oz from shore at Beesands, just west of Dartmouth.  His timing was a little “off”.  He caught his fabulous ‘flattie’ the day before Dartmouth Plaice Festival.  He's also landed a Garfish from shore of 1 lb11 ozs, a Whiting from shore of 1 lb 7 oz 14 dr, and the list goes on.

In early June, while fishing in Brixham Harbour, with a mixture of pounded up and very smelly "old " Mackerel, mixed up with mashed-up loaves of bread as ground bait, Kevin hooked into and landed a whopping great Golden Grey Mullet (Liza Aurata – what a lovely Latin name).  When later weighed ashore at Brixham SAC, Kevin’s specimen Golden Grey weighed 3 lbs 8 ozs.

Kevin Elliott of Brixham SAC proudly holds his potential rod caught British record Golden Grey Mullett 3 lbs 8 ozs Photo courtesy of Dave Fortune

Kevin’s fish eclipsed the existing British rod-caught shore record which is jointly held by a brace of fish, one from the East coast of Alderney in 1991, the other at Christchurch, Dorset in 1994.  This record currently stands at 3 lbs 0 ozs 4 dr.  Kevin used light float tackle, with Mackerel "flesh only" bait on a small hook, just off the bottom, on a falling tide to tempt his big fish.

I know Kevin as a fellow committee member of Torbay Borough Sea Angling Festival.  He is also a member of the committee of Brixham SAC and ‘works his socks off’ for it.  He’s a volunteer on the RNLI Torbay Lifeboat.  It gives me great pleasure to see a really genuine guy do so well.  I did hear that he didn’t sleep a wink the night he caught this exceptional fish.  Well done Kevin, you deserved it.

(c) Thursday 9th June 2005 - Mike Concannon - Fishing Dartmouth