Sea fishing is often regarded as the last true wilderness in our sport, as unlike most other forms of angling you truly never know what your next bite will be, adding to the excitement of this style of fishing.
One angler who experienced a truly shocking capture was Mally Missen. While fishing with his friend Kieran Pendleton, he landed a monster cod from the River Mersey weighing 11lb, making the session the most memorable one they have ever had together. Mally has only been fishing a few months and has caught a fish many lifelong sea anglers dream of catching, further testament to the joy of not knowing what fish you could catch next.
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"My mates have been into sea fishing a lot longer than I have, but so far, I’ve been loving it and have definitely caught the bug," Mally told us.
"So far, I’ve had some cracking catches, including bullhuss up to 10lb, rays up to 9lb 7oz, and bass up to 4lb."
"I live just a stone’s throw from the River Mersey in Liverpool, and we fish it as much as we can."
"Over the last couple of months, we’ve caught a wide range of species, including whiting, codling, Dover sole, flounder, and plaice."
On their most recent session, the anglers were targeting thornback rays, with Mally landing a superb fish just under 10lb. While this capture alone would have made the session memorable, his next bite left them all truly overwhelmed!
"After releasing the ray, I had a very similar bite on my big fish rod, which was baited with a squid and lug cocktail," he recounted.
"It took me a while to get it back to the wall. There was a good amount of weight on the end, and with the odd head thump, I presumed it was another ray or maybe a conger eel."
"While I was playing the fish, my friends Ash and Nixon, who were fishing with us, peered over the wall with their head torches. We soon realised it was a monstrous cod."
After a few attempts, the anglers managed to lower a drop net down over the wall and safely secure the fish before lifting it ashore. A mix of screams and laughter erupted as the nervous battle came to an end, with none of them ever having seen such a spectacular fish caught from the shore.
"My adrenaline was pumping—I have never seen a fish like it. A true fish of a lifetime and the last thing I ever expected to catch," Mally said.
"The cod tipped the scales at just over 11lb, and I am still buzzing about the capture even now, it was even better to share the experience with my friends!"
"I would like to thank my mates Ash, Kieran, and Nixon for getting me into angling. It is an amazing sport, and I’m a lifelong angler now," he concluded.
