British couple catch 'unstoppable monster' 8ft catfish weighing 150lb that is likely UK record
WATCH: Martin Daubney speaks to the husband and wife who caught the monster fish
GB News
A husband and wife fishing duo reeled in an eight-foot long (2.4 metres) catfish weighing a monster 150lbs (68 kilos).
Shaun and Chloe Ing were fishing at Chigborough Fisheries, in Essex when they snagged the fish.
The creature was 7lbs heavier than the existing record weight for a catfish in the UK.
Shaun, a roofer, said the fish was ‘unstoppable’ after it took his bait and swam off with it, saying it was like a 'Jaws' moment.
The couple caught the monster at Chigborough Fisheries, in Essex
Chloe Ing/Google Maps
The 34-year-old said: “We got the bite on the fish around 7.50pm just as the delivery driver for our Chinese arrived. The reel on the rod almost set on fire, it was going so fast.
"It was absolute panic stations. It was pitch black and from there it was an hour-and-a-half of absolute hell. I put the rod between my legs for support and by the time I was finished my legs were just black from bruises.
"At one point I gave the line to Chloe and she was almost taken off her feet by the sheer force of it. It was like a Jaws moment when we saw the fish for the first time.
"The catfish was easily eight feet long, wider than me and when we put it on the scales it was bang on 150 pounds."
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Shaun and Chloe Ing
GB News
The world record for a catfish is currently held by Italian angler Alessandro Biancardi who in 2023 pulled a 9.4-foot long catfish weighing 280lbs from the River Po, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.
Shaun and Chloe had just ordered a Chinese takeaway minutes before they got the first bite. They said that by the time they had caught and returned the fish to the water, the meal was ruined.
He said: "It was so big it broke everything that it touched. It even broke the hook on the weighing tripod. It was just an absolute joke of a beast.
"By the time we recovered and settled down to eat the Chinese it was absolutely ruined. But we still ate it. At the end of the day we would love to have the record especially for a fish of that size. I don’t think this will be beaten for some time.”
The couple are now awaiting the British Records Fish Committee to ratify their record claim.
The record they believe they have beaten is held by Darren Reitz, 34, from Rainham, in Essex,
Reitz took 50 minutes to haul out a 143lb fish in April 2024.
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