Angler lands 8-foot 'monster' catfish, could shatter UK record

The late-September catch of an 8-foot, 150-pound catfish – said to be the largest ever caught in the UK – has been generating headlines this week.

Shaun Ing landed the behemoth at Chigboro Fisheries’ Maywater Lake after a 90-minute fight, which Ing described to the BBC as “absolute madness.”

Chigboro Fisheries announced the catch Jan. 6 via Facebook, writing:

“A couple months back something happened on the complex for Shaun and [his wife] Chloe! 150lb catfish. 8 foot plus. 1 hour 30 plus of graft and knowing how to play big fish. This is hopefully going to be the new catfish record.”

According to the British Record Fish Committee, the current record stands at 143 pounds, for a catch made from Maywater Lake last May. (Ing’s record submission is still under review.)

Ing, 34,  hooked his catfish with a small yellow hook bait and 15-pound-test line.

He told the BBC: “It was stripping line like you wouldn’t believe. I used to have a German shepherd – it was like walking 12 of them at once.”

Angling Times reported that Ing and his wife work at Chigboro Fisheries and are helping to transfer catfish from Maywater Lake to a new lake on the property.

“We had already recorded a 143-pound catfish from Maywater and knew it wasn’t the biggest fish left in the lake,” Ing said. “That cat was just over 6 feet long, but we knew there was a monster over 8 feet yet to be landed.”

It required the use of two slings to haul the catfish onto the shore, and a human body bag (used as a prop during Halloween) for the weighing process. Afterward, the catfish was released into the new lake.