Smooth-hound record broken

ROBIN Randall has broken the British smooth-hound record with the capture of this 32lb specimen caught aboard his own boat Novat.

Targeting an area of rough ground out of Southampton known as The Brambles while aboard his boat, Novat, the 42-year-old fished a piece of ragworm on a size 4/0 hook to tempt the shark which beat the old best for the species of 28lb.

However, Robin won’t be able to submit an official record claim as he sportingly returned the fish alive, as opposed to killing it and returning to shore.

“I was fishing in about 15ft of water so the fish went off like a train, it was like hooking a tuna. It just kept going and I knew it was a big smooth-hound. It looked simply huge, the biggest I’d caught before this was 15lb. I was unaware just how big a catch it was until I showed my pictures to Al's Tackle in Woolston,” he said.