The Bluebell Lakes near Tansor have always been known for their large fish, but it was big news when Bev Street from Skegness, an angler for three years, landed the largest ever freshwater fish caught by a woman.

Mrs Street, 45, who does most of her fishing at Chapel St Leonards caught a 66 lb catfish, the record by 2 lb, whilst on a week long fishing trip. This national record smashed her own personal best of a 29 lb carp.

The record was set in 1922, by Georgina Ballantine, who caught a 64 lb salmon on the River Tay in Perthshire, Scotland. It was especially famous, as at the time, there were few female anglers and it inspired many women to take up fishing. However, even now only about one in ten of all the anglers in Britain are female.

The catch began just after Mrs Street had gone to bed in her tent just next to the lake. She was alerted by the electronic alarm on her rod, and the struggle that ensued lasted for half an hour. It ended when her husband, Chris, waded into the shallows to finally catch the record-breaking catfish. At first she did not know that the catch was a new record, but it was verified by the bailiff of the lakes. She had only appreciated its massive size towards the end of the struggle, when she caught sight of it in her torch light. It was an especially good effort when considering the fact that there are only thought to be around eight catfish in the UK over 60 lb.

The Bluebell Lakes Fishery has four lakes, a match pool and a two mile stretch of the River Nene. One of its most famous occupants is ‘Benson’ the carp who is regularly caught and weighs around 65 lb. One of the largest fish ever caught at the Bluebell Lakes was a 75 lb catfish caught in September 2005 by Leon Pickin.