Darren Reitz usually goes fishing in search of “peace and quiet,” but then he caught what he could only describe as a “monster.” It was a fish so big it could have broken a UK record.
The 34-year-old from east London, a self-described amateur fisherman, was enjoying a day on a lake in Maldon, Essex, when he came across the aquatic beast. Reitz told CBS News partner bbc who was at Chigborough Farm and Fisheries with friends when he suddenly felt a bite on his fishing line. It took him almost an hour – and the help of his friends – to get him out of the water.
“My wrist still hurts from spinning around,” he told the BBC. “…Three of my friends went into the water with nets because it was that big and I was so afraid of losing it.”
But they didn’t, and everyone was shocked when they finally saw how big the fish was.
“It was a monster,” Reitz said of the catfish, which weighed a staggering 143 pounds. The potentially record-holding fish was nicknamed Scar and was released back into the water.
A catfish of that size is not common in the UK and it is believed this could be the largest fish ever caught on a line in freshwater in the UK. The previous record was a 130-pound catfish.
But Chigborough Farm co-owner Paul Tallowin told the BBC this is the largest fish ever taken from the farm’s lakes – but he believes some of those not caught could be even bigger.
“Catfish gain about 7 pounds a year, so this one would be about 45 years old,” he said. “I’m sure some are a little bigger. It all depends on what they have to eat.”
Li Cohen
