Record haul of blue sharks taken off coast of Wales

The UK has once again proven its fame and crowbarred its name into game fishing history as three anglers enjoyed a haul of 57 blue sharks to 153lb.

Fishermen Chris Bett, John Beck and Paul Woodward fished mackerel hook baits aboard Andrew Alsop’s Whitewater II to tempt the razor-toothed sharks just out of Milford Haven.

Smashing the previous record of most sharks caught in a day by seven, skipper Andrew is optimistic that the record could be beaten again.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before in all my years in the business. It was as though the sea was infested with sharks. In four days at sea I had 162 blues on the boat, which just goes to show how many fish there are out there-maybe next time we’ll have 60 in one day.”

Chris and John, from Taunton in Somerset, and Oldham’s Paul Woodward, used plastic bottles as floats and size 10/0 hooks with 30-50lb class outfits to lure in the quarry.

Chris, who holds the British boat-caught record for a porbeagle shark at 484lb, ranks the session aboard the Whitewater II as one of the most exciting sessions of his life.

“The best way I can describe our trip is 10 hours of complete fishing ecstasy. I’ve been out with some good skippers in my time, but Andrew Alsop is by far the best. It’s no coincidence that it’s his boat that is responsible for so many record-breaking catches.”