Reports of catfish from UK rivers usually revolve around epic battles with unseen monsters, ending in smashed tackle and a lost fish. But an angler has now landed a ‘kitten’ of around 10lb from a small river at the bottom of his garden.
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Tony Brindley lives in Sunbury on Thames, and his garden backs on to a river known as The Creek, which flows into the Thames. Usually, he catches perch and chub here, but this time it was something larger.
“On an earlier session I hooked something that felt very different. It just took off and snapped my line,” he said.
“The next day I was back, fishing with a lobworm, and had a bite that nearly pulled the rod in. The fish swirled and dived, and initially I thought it was a pike. When I saw this catfish, I was astonished. It was about a metre long and I’d guess it weighed around 5kg’”.
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The Thames is known to hold catfish – last year we reported a 6ft-long fish that smashed guide Dan Lantz’s rod.
“One was found dead in this area. It was reported to the police as a body, but turned out to be a 6ft catfish,” added Tony.
“It’s said that in the 1920s, someone released them upstream at Walton. They must be well established, as this one was clearly not fully grown.”
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