The British Record Bream

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

The British record bream weighs 22lb 11oz (10.291kg). Scot Crook caught it from Ferry Lagoon, part of the Fen Drayton Lakes in Cambridgeshire, in 2012, and it still tops the British Record Fish Committee coarse list dated 30 January 2026.

Set that against a normal fish. The Canal & River Trust puts a typical bream at 1lb to 5lb, so the biggest bream ever caught in the UK weighed more than four times a good one.

The record is also widely misquoted. Some sites give 22lb 12oz and others name a different angler. This page sets out the ratified UK bream record, the fish’s capture history, where the wrong figures come from, how close a 2025 bream came, the separate silver bream record and how to claim one yourself.

The UK Bream Record at a Glance

Everything on the official listing, plus the one detail it leaves out, is in this table.

Detail	Record
Species	Common (bronze) bream, Abramis brama
Weight	22lb 11oz (10.291kg)
Captor	Scot Crook
Venue	Ferry Lagoon, Fen Drayton Lakes, Cambridgeshire
Year	2012
Date	7 April 2012 (the BRFC lists the year only; the date comes from published record lists)
List checked	BRFC Coarse Fish Records as at 30 January 2026 (bream entry unchanged from the 29 February 2024 list)

Most bream you catch will be 30cm to 40cm long and between 1lb and 5lb, and they can live 15 to 20 years. A double-figure fish is a specimen to most anglers.

The British Record Fish Committee (BRFC), administered by the Angling Trust, ratifies every British record bream claim and publishes updated lists from time to time. Check the latest list on the Angling Trust site before you quote a figure, and see our full list of British fishing records for the other species.

The Story of the Ferry Lagoon Record Bream

The fish that set the British record bream had very likely been on the bank before. At least twice.

Ferry Lagoon covers around 160 acres and is one of the lakes in the Fen Drayton Lakes complex in Cambridgeshire. Secondary sources describe it as a syndicate water. Access arrangements change, so check with the current controlling club or fishery before you plan a trip.

According to a 2012 Total Fishing report, the same big bream is believed to have been caught three times:

2005: 19lb 10oz, caught by James Rust.
September 2009: 22lb 9oz, caught by Mark McKenna. He did not claim it as a record because he was fishing for carp.
April 2012: 22lb 11oz, caught by Scot Crook and ratified by the BRFC.

Nobody can prove it was one fish across all three captures, but the reports treat it that way. If so, it gained 3lb 1oz in seven years.

Look at who caught the 2009 fish. It fell to a carp angler, and that pattern turns up again with the 2025 near-misses below. For bait, tactics and behaviour, read our bream species guide.

Why Some Sites Say 22lb 12oz or Mark McKenna

Search for the UK bream record and you’ll see 22lb 12oz on one site and a different angler’s name on another. Neither matches the official list, and both errors trace back to real fish.

The 22lb 12oz figure

Early news reports in 2012 gave the weight as 22lb 12oz. The weight on the official BRFC list is 22lb 11oz. The ratified figure is the one that counts, and the Canal & River Trust’s 10.291kg matches 22lb 11oz, not 22lb 12oz.

The Mark McKenna name

Some species guides credit Mark McKenna and a “private lake”. McKenna’s 22lb 9oz fish came from the same water in 2009, but he never claimed it, so it was never the record. The ratified British record bream belongs to Scot Crook, and the venue is Ferry Lagoon.

The rule of thumb: if a source disagrees with the current BRFC list, the BRFC list wins. Quote the weight, captor and list date together and nobody can misread you.

How Close Have Recent Bream Come to the Record?

In June 2025 Angling Times reported a bream of 21lb 15oz. That is just 12oz short of the British record bream.

Scott Crowhurst caught it at The Mill Carp Fishery, a day-ticket water in Essex, on a pop-up boilie meant for carp. He told Angling Times he had thought the record was about 24lb, and that a heavier fish would have had no witness because he was alone on the lake.

Angling Times reported other huge bream that same month:

Weight	Angler	Short of the record by
21lb 15oz	Scott Crowhurst	12oz
20lb 12oz	Finn McGrath	1lb 15oz
18lb 0oz	Sam Church	4lb 11oz

Angling Times still described Crook’s fish as the current record in June 2025, and the 30 January 2026 BRFC list confirms it stands.

The 2009 and 2025 near-misses both came on carp tackle and carp baits. The next record bream may well fall to a carp angler rather than a bream specialist, though two fish make a pattern, not a rule. If you fish for both, see our pages on the British record carp and the biggest carp ever caught.

If you fish alone on a water that holds big bream, know who you would call to witness and weigh a fish before you need them.

The Silver Bream Record: A Different Fish

There is a second freshwater bream record in Britain, and it weighs about a seventh of the common bream record.

The BRFC lists the silver bream (Blicca bjoerkna) record at 3lb 4oz (1.474kg), caught by Gareth Evans at Mill Farm Fishery, Pulborough, Sussex, in 2012 (21 May 2012, according to published record lists).

Silver bream stay small, and anglers often mistake them for small common bream or bream hybrids. If you think you have one near record size, the BRFC will advise on identification when you make a claim.

Sea bream species sit on the separate BRFC sea list, so don’t compare them with either freshwater record. Browse our coarse fish species guides for the other freshwater fish.

How to Claim a British Record Bream

Think your bream beats 22lb 11oz? Follow these steps, based on the Angling Trust make-your-claim page:

Contact the BRFC Secretary promptly via the Angling Trust page.
Follow the advice you are given on identification and, if needed, preservation.
Record the date, place, species, method, claimed weight and scales details, and send clear photographs.
Complete the claim forms within 56 days of issue, including scale testing.
Wait for the committee to consider the claim and give provisional confirmation.
The next BRFC meeting, held twice a year, ratifies the claim and issues a certificate.

Use accurate scales, zero them with the wet sling, get a witness where you can and look after the fish. Check current witness requirements on the Angling Trust page.

Best for: any bream close to the record. Skip it if your fish is well short, and log it as a personal best.

Frequently asked questions

What is the biggest bream ever caught in the UK?

The biggest bream ever caught in the UK weighed 22lb 11oz (10.291kg), landed by Scot Crook at Ferry Lagoon, Cambridgeshire, in 2012. It is the ratified British record on the BRFC coarse list dated 30 January 2026.

Has the British record bream been broken?

No, not as of the BRFC list dated 30 January 2026. A 21lb 15oz bream from an Essex day-ticket water in 2025 came within 12oz, and a 20lb 12oz fish followed the same month. Check the latest BRFC list on the Angling Trust site for any newer ratification.

Where is Ferry Lagoon?

Ferry Lagoon is one of the Fen Drayton Lakes in Cambridgeshire, covering around 160 acres. Secondary sources describe it as a syndicate water rather than a day-ticket venue. Check access with the controlling club or fishery before you travel.

Who keeps the British fish records?

The British Record Fish Committee keeps them, administered by the Angling Trust. It ratifies claims at meetings held twice a year and issues a certificate for each new record. Start any claim through the make-your-claim page on the Angling Trust website.