The Extraordinary Life And Suspicious Death Of Benson The Giant Carp

[mrmoshe]

The extraordinary life and suspicious death of Benson the giant carp

Alas poor Benson. Born around 1984 and at times England's largest freshwater fish, this awe-inspiring carp has been found dead at his home at Bluebell Lakes near Peterborough.

The facts of Benson's life are well known for he was the UK's most famous fish. Stocked into the Bluebell at around 10 years of age, Benson was already well over 10kg (22lb), on his way to super-stardom. At his peak, he was caught at over 25kg (60lb), though more recently he had slimmed down to around 50lb – still a leviathan. He gained his name because of a small hole in his dorsal fin that looked exactly like a cigarette burn.

But what made Benson so special, so beloved, was his generosity. It's estimated he graced the landing nets of more than 60 anglers, dusting them all with immortality.

Under normal circumstances, we would simply lament Benson's passing but there is anger today and a sense of suspicion. Carps can live to 60 or 70; Benson was cut down in his prime. Raw tiger nuts have been found on the banks at Bluebell. Unless these nuts are cooked and expertly prepared they can prove toxic to carp and the fear is that Benson could have been poisoned by one of his pursuers. Carp anglers love their carp and this smacks of a monstrous betrayal.

I never met Benson. I don't know what he was like as a fish. But through the 1980s, I pursued a carp called Eric in his Norfolk lake home. (I say Eric but Erica is more apt! When she died, she was full of eggs.) During all that time, I swear Erica got to know me as well as I did her. She was happy to flaunt herself, to tease and to tantalise. I often wondered who was trying to fool who.

I realise we shouldn't credit fish with intelligence but Erica and Benson and fish like them possess an awareness that is undeniable when you get to know them. When Erica died, I mourned the passing of a friend rather than a target I would never be able to achieve.

In the history of carp angling, Benson and Erica are not new. There have been other great fish like Sally and Heather the Leather – so called for her complete lack of scales. It is impossible not to realise that carp like these are the airbrushed supermodels of angling, unattainable to 99% of the fishing fraternity. Most of us simply dream, quite content with the smaller fish that give so much pleasure and are so lovingly returned – who knows, perhaps one day to replace our lost friend?

Benson, carp, born 1984, died 2009. Leaves behind numerous widows, thousands of offspring and 60-odd lovelorn captors.

Here's a Video of the old fella.

Edited August 5, 2009 by MallacootaPete