ANGLERS at a North-East conservation centre have come up with the fishiest of fishy tales about a coy carp.

Staff at the Angling and Conservation Centre, near Witton Park, County Durham, reckon the female fish they call Percy - because of the perseverance they have shown in trying to catch it - must be the cleverest carp in Britain.

Now, after years of trying to haul her in, the experts are throwing out a £300 challenge to amateur anglers to see if they can succeed where they have failed.

Percy, who is known to be 30 years old, has frustrated all attempts to make her take the bait since she came to one of the centre's six freshwater lakes from Lord Barnard's estate, at Raby Castle, Staindrop, County Durham, in 1998.

She stays out of the way of the other fish in the pond and rarely comes close to the surface.

As well as a home for Bishop Auckland Angling Club, the centre is the region's base for Get Hooked on Fishing, a scheme encouraging teenagers to take up the sport and stay away from crime, and some top anglers and instructors are regular visitors.

But Percy has eluded them all, even teen-age expert Philip Farley, from Sunderland, who has spent whole days and nights trying to get her on the end of his line.

Former police officer Mick Watson, who set up the programme three years ago and has fished around the country, said Percy was the wiliest fish he has known.

He is offering £300 worth of tackle to the person who reels her in - and puts her straight back, of course.

He said: "We want to weigh her, take her picture and check her over to see if she is all right.

"She is a wily old fish, a loner who is very territorial. Very experienced anglers have not been able to get anywhere near her. If she has had a hook in her mouth she knows all the lily beds and snags. She will wrap the line around obstacles in the water to get away."

Percy is a full-sized mirror carp, probably weighs about 30lbs and is about 75cm long, 30cm wide and 50cm deep.

She is choosy about her food and crafty enough to eat the boilies - small balls of nutrition packed bait - offered on the end of a line without being hooked.

Philip Farley believes the fish must eventually make a mistake. He said: "Someone will come along who is inexperienced, but could be very lucky."

The centre is open daily from 8am to dusk. Day permits are £5 for adults, £2 for under-16s, and £3 for concessions. For more details, call (01388) 609734.