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Gaz Fareham with Heather the Leather
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Anglers mourn loss of Heather the Leather

By Tim Tonkin
June 09, 2010

MESSAGES of sympathy from around the world have been flooding in following the death of Yateley’s giant carp, Heather the Leather.

Anglers from the UK and further afield have been stunned by the news that the legendary 52lb fish had sadly passed away earlier this week.

The carp, which was believed to be between 45 and 51-years-old, was reportedly the UK’s most famous fish having out-foxed many an angler for decades.

Yateley Angling Centre’s Mike Nelson described how Heather’s body was discovered on the opening day of the fishing season at a local lake known as the Car Park.

He said: "It’s a very, very sad start to the season. Heather was a fish that was targeted by many anglers for many years."

Some reports described how Heather had been caught and landed well over 1,000 times during her life, a figure that Mr Nelson dismissed as wildly inaccurate.

Reputation

He said: "The national press said she’d been caught over 1,000 times but I’d say it was well under 100 and probably on average only three times a year.

"People travelled from all over the world to catch that one, she was however a very wary fish and very hard to catch out."

Yateley, with its wide number of former quarries, is a well known carp-fishing destination for anglers from across the UK.

The Yateley Angling Centre, on The Parade, provides bait, tackle and a wide range of angling equipment.

The centre also maintains a history of some of the legendary fish that have lived in the town’s lakes, a record that Heather will now enter into.

Another worker at the centre, Martin King, sai he had tried unsuccessfully to catch Heather around 90 times over the past four years, and was the first person to come across her body.

"She was the biggest leather carp in the country and had such a reputation that people really wanted to catch her," he said.

Headstone

Mr King added that Heather had last been caught in November 2009, but with the start of fishing season many anglers would have again been wanting to try their luck.

He then described finding Heather’s body and the solemn journey he made to recover her from the lake.

He said: "I had to go out on a boat to get her from the water and then buried her on the bank of the Car Park."

Despite the intense competition among members of the angling community to catch Heather, Mr Nelson insisted that the respect shown by successful anglers contributed to the carp's long life, adding: "These fish are always given a lot of care and attention when they’re caught."

Since news of Heather’s death, online fishing forums have been inundated with comments paying tribute to an extraordinary animal.

One angler said: "Cracking fish. Always terrible to see big fish die especially a 50lb, which has brought so many anglers their catch of a lifetime."

Another added: "This fish was a legend in carp circles, but they all die at some point, carp just happen to live longer than a lot of other fish."

Mr Nelson and Mr King confirmed that local anglers would be erecting a headstone on the bank of the Car Park to honour Heather’s memory.

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