There aren’t many coarse fish in British waters that take more than a few minutes to land, let alone over an hour. However, a massive catfish landed by Shaun and Chloe Ing took an astonishing 90 minutes to reel in and it was definitely worth the effort, as the fish eclipsed the British record weighing a staggering 150lb.
Caught at the renowned catfish venue, Chigborough Fishery in Essex, this is the same water where Darren Reitz holds the current 143lb record with a fish known as "Scar,". The catfish banked by Shaun is a completely different specimen and is now awaiting confirmation from the British Record Fish Committee.
"My wife Chloe and I work as bailiffs at the venue, and at the moment, we’re in the process of moving the catfish from Maywater Lake to start a new catfish lake on the same complex," Shaun explained.
"We had already recorded a 143lb catfish from Maywater and knew it wasn’t the biggest fish left in the lake. That cat was just over 6ft long, but we knew there was a monster over 8ft yet to be landed."
"I’m a carp angler at heart, but I know how effective solid bags are at catching catfish. Fishing from the long chuck swim, I wrapped my rod to 24 wraps and cast tight to the island, using a solid bag packed with pellets and a small yellow hook bait," he added.
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Shaun's chosen tactics were proven to be right, as a couple of hours after casting out he received a blistering take. Upon getting to the rod, the fish powered off into the lake and he could do nothing but hold on as it peeled line from the reel.
"The fish was unstoppable, I just knew it had to be the big cat we were after and was fully expecting a long fight," he recalled.
"The battle was like nothing I have ever experienced, lasting over 90 minutes. Every time I gained line, the fish took it back."
"The fight lasted so long that the Chinese takeaway we had delivered just as I hooked it was completely ruined."
The drama didn’t end there. When the fish finally surfaced, Shaun realised it was even bigger than he had anticipated—and it wasn’t going to fit into his landing net. His good friend Alex was on hand, wading into the lake with a sling, hoping to safely land the fish, but it was still a struggle. Eventually, Alex’s partner, Ellie Mae, joined him with another sling, and together they managed to secure the fish.
"Once we had the cat resting in the slings, we wondered how on earth we were going to unhook and weigh the beast, all the while knowing it could be close to, if not bigger than, the British record," he said.
"My wife, Chloe, called Sam and Paul, the owners of the fishery. She brought out a suitable item to handle and weigh the catfish—a human body bag we use as a prop for Halloween events."
"We tried to weigh the catfish, but the first tripod gave out as the hook straightened under the weight."
"After finding a suitable weighing tripod, we finally got a reading of 164.1lb! After taking some photos and videos, we carefully moved the catfish to its new home."
"Due to the fish's size, it wasn’t practical to zero the scales, as we had nothing suitable to retain it in. Instead, we weighed the slings afterward, which came to 14lb 1oz. That makes the catfish 150lb exactly—hopefully a new British record," he concluded.
Speaking to Dan Wadey of the Catfish Conservation Group, he was elated with the capture:
"Catfish are gaining a lot of popularity in the UK, and with their addition back onto the BRFC list, we hope it will continue to strengthen the rise in angler's targeting them."
"They are a great fish to target, powerful and amazing creatures. If you want any more advice on our conservation efforts you can visit our website."
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