Posted on 11/13/2009 10:02:55 AM PST by Stoat
Nibble ... Sean and his massive catch
Sean Kinnear, 27, was amazed when he felt a fierce tug on his fishing line and pulled in the 9ft monster, which weighs a whopping 17 STONE.
He waged a 15-minute battle to land the beast, which hits the scales at an incredible 233lb 6oz — more than a stone heavier than boxer Haye.
It is the third largest catfish ever caught in the world.
Sean, from Hitchin, Herts, caught the fish during a trip with his cousin to the Ebro River in north east Spain.
Sean said: "As the fish surfaced we were all in shock as it was so big.
"It was really hard trying to reel it in as it was so heavy and the rod was bending.
"It came close to breaking me, but I managed to pull it in, although it took four of us to get it on to the shore."
Sean, who has been a keen angler since he was 12, was on a fishing holiday with his cousin near the town of Mequinenza.
The big catch came after a 12 hour day of fishing.
Sean added: "We had been fishing all day and it was just starting to get dark so I thought I'd have one last try.
"The fish bit very hard and I managed to land it within 15 minutes."
The mighty fish was loaded on to a sling and weighed before it was returned to the river.
Sean, who has a photo of his big catch on his wall, revealed: "I was totally over the moon and it's a fishing holiday I'll never forget.
"I might have to change species now to have more of a challenge and move on to sturgeon which can go up to 1000lb."
Wells Catfish are the largest freshwater fish in Europe and eat anything they come across, including swans. The largest ever caught weighed 246lb.
The Comet - Hitchin angler lands monster catfish
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| Sean Kinnear with the monster catfish |
"I was using a line with 200lbs breaking strain and the rod was really bending but once it was on the shore it never struggled. But it took five of us to get it there."
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Note regarding the size....The Sun reports the fish as weighing 233lbs, 6oz whereas The Comet reports it as weighing 133 lbs, 6oz.
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Weights and Measures Assistance:
Think we’re going to need a bigger net.
In Massachusetts, they could probably get married.
Izaac Walton would be proud...
He’s gonna need about 50 lbs of cornmeal...
A stone is 14 pounds...
A hundred weight (CWT) is 112 pounds
The English ton is 20 CWT or 2240 pounds...
I’m wondering why they put that fish back into a freshwater river ???
it could attack people...
“The mighty fish was loaded on to a sling and weighed before it was returned to the river.”
LMAO
They do look rather chummy together, don't they? ;-)
FMCDH(BITS)
I wonder how old that fish is.
I landed a catfish so big the picture of it weighed 10 lbs.
It measured 8 inches (between the eyes as any good catfisherman would measure a catch).
It wasn’t that hard bringing my catfish in, the hardest part was baiting up the 100 pound cricket.
.....Bob
fish stories everywhere.....
Looks sort of like a giant tadpole
It appears they need to get a room.....
Let me guess...two pound test line?....
It doesn’t look edible.
Indeed, it look prehistorically disgusting.
Ah bet it tastes jist lakh chikin ....
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