THE giant fish that made waves around the world when it was caught in a local pool 72 years has come home to Herefordshire.

'Clarissa the Carp' weighed a record-breaking 44lbs when she was fished out of Redmire Pool near Llangarron, five miles from Monmouth, by renowned angler and author Richard Walker in 1952.

And now the preserved specimen of "probably the most important fish" ever – who lived the rest of her life in a London Zoo aquarium – has taken pride of place at the Fisherman's Arms at Docklow Pools near Leominster.

Mounted in a glass case, she was offered for auction earlier this year at a guide price of £35,000 to £40,000 by Lanes fishing tackle shop in Coventry, and has now been acquired by the Herefordshire fishing hot spot at an undisclosed price.

"The Lanes family didn't want Clarissa to be hidden away in a private collection, so she is now here in our bar for all to see," Docklow owner Mike Bozward told the Angling Times.

"I'd say it's the most famous carp in the world... What's special about Clarissa is the history that surrounds her and the impact her capture had on fishing."

After being caught and breaking the previous record by a whopping 13lbs, Clarissa went on to become a star attraction at London Zoo and lived until 1972.

Her record stood for 28 years until a fish weighing 51.5 lbs was caught in 1980 at the same Bernithan Court pool between Llangarron and Glewstone.

Mullock Jones auctioneer Ben Jones said: “The capture of Clarissa the record breaking 44lb carp propelled Richard Walker into the record books and carp fishing royalty for life."

Walker believed a 40lb carp could exist in British waters but was ridiculed by anglers and the press before catching the fish on a one-inch, two-piece split cane rod made in his garden shed.

The famous Richard Walker Mk4 was born and has become the cult rod for carp traditionalists.

He fished with no float, knots or lead and the bait was a homemade mix of paste and bread crust.

Richard later recalled: "I rang the London Zoo and said, 'Do you want a 40-pound carp?' They said, 'We've got a 14-pound carp.'

“And then I said, 'Not a 14-pound carp - a 40-pound carp!'

“The man at the other end made some terse comments about how he did wish hoaxers would think of something better to do on a Saturday morning.

"Then I had to put it fairly bluntly. I said, 'Now look, I say this carp is over 40lb and I’ve got it here and you can have it if you like.

“If you don’t want it I’m sure Bristol Zoo would be glad to have it and they would not have so far to come...

“If you send out a vehicle and something to fetch this fish in and you find it’s a hoax – all right you’ve wasted a journey.

“But if you don’t send it out and your employers at the Zoological Society find somebody else has got the carp because you wouldn’t believe me, I think you might be in worse trouble.

"So he said, 'I'll send for it.' About six hours later a van arrived with a tub and two obviously unbelieving people who thought it was going to be a hoax.

“They were quite surprised to find it wasn’t!”

The fish is mounted in a glazed bow-fronted case, with gilt writing and border, set in a naturalistic reed and gravel setting.

Originally mounted by a taxidermist for £80, it was restored in 2011 by Barry Williams, of Cannock, Staffs.