Teen catches giant catfish minutes after doubting her luck, father says

Fox News ^ | September 18, 2021 | Cortney Moore

[American Number 181269513]

A 15-year-old girl caught a catfish that exceeded her height on Friday the 13th.

Hannah Truscott went fishing with her father Paul, 51, in Essex County, England, on the superstitious day, according to South West News Service (SWNS).

The pair traveled more than 100 miles from their Derbyshire home to the county’s White Lakes.

According to the teen’s father, she had doubts about their fishing trip because it was Friday, Aug. 13.

"She didn’t think she’d catch anything because of the date, but I said not everyone can be that unlucky," Truscott reportedly told SWNS.

Hannah’s first catch of the day was a 96-pound, 4-ounce catfish, which required two sets of hands to hold up its incredibly long body.

Truscott told SWNS the catch is her "personal best" and beat her last record by 25 pounds.

"There are men who haven’t caught one over 40 pounds, and they’ve been doing it years," Truscott told the British news agency. "I think she’s had about 23 in the last four years over 40 pounds.''

Hannah went on to catch five more catfish that day, which brought the total weight of her haul to nearly 400 pounds, SWNS reported.

Truscott told SWNS he and Hannah first went fishing together when she was around 6 years old. Since then, he said, she’s become a specialist in catching catfish.

"I’ve left her to it and said, ‘I’m not going to help you,’ and over time she’s just mastered it," Truscott told SWNS. "She’s learnt how to hang on, she’s spot on at playing them."

[Paul R.]

Good point. It also has an underhung jaw like a flathead. OTOH, I believe a flattie this big would have a disproportionately larger front half of its body including the head. (The biggest flathead I’ve ever caught was 36” long.)

[eastforker]

Flat heads, like gar and Grinnell are prehistoric.