Angler catches fish which is bigger than him

Apr 11 2008

Wayne Halsall, big fish

IT WAS the catch of a lifetime that nearly got away.

Fisherman Wayne Halsall spent 90 minutes in a battle of wits with this giant catfish on the banks of a Spanish river.

The 200lb fish was reeled in by the Kirkdale builder during a fishing holiday with a group of friends in the Spanish Pyrenees last month.

The father-of-four said: “All of a sudden, my rod nearly got dragged into the water. I got hold of it and it was like trying to stop a car.

“I spent an hour and a half before I caught it. One of the lads shouted, ‘it’s a monster’ when they saw it. I couldn’t believe the size of it.”

And when Wayne put his catch on the scales it almost broke them.

The 51-year-old, who is 5ft 9ins tall, posed next to his catch to show just how big it was.

He said: “The fish was longer than I was and when we weighed it our scales would only go up to 200lbs so we know it was even heavier that.”

“It was the highlight of my trip catching that fish and I’ve been dining out on the story ever since.

“I will always remember that day.”

Wayne, who travels all over Europe to fish, returned the catfish to the river Ebro so other fishermen could experience the same thrill.

Angling expert Dave Houghton said today: “That is a monstrous fish and it was a tremendous feat to land it.

“You have to be quite fit and know what you are doing to catch a fish like that.”