Is this a rod-caught record for Europe?
A six-gill shark weighing more than 1,500lb, taken off the Irish coast, is believed to be the biggest-ever fish caught on rod and line in Europe.
One of the two fish by the side of the boat.
Ben Bond (26) from Somerset was on a three-day fishing trip in Carrigaholt, Ireland when the giant shark took his double coalfish hookbait while he was aboard the charter boat Clare Dragoon.
Ben’s friend Ben Carter had already taken an estimated 1,000lb six-gill shark on the first day of the trip, but it was during the final session that the much larger shark showed.
Speaking exclusively to the Angling Times, Ben Bond described the 90-minute fight:
“It was an absolute monster!” he said. When it first took the bait the resistance was unbelievably heavy. The shark was tough to shift off the bottom but the real fight began in mid-water.
“After about 75 minutes I saw it near the surface and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Its tail was at one end of the boat and its head was well over halfway along.
“I’m a traditional barbel and coarse angler at heart so to catch such a huge fish is completely out of the ordinary for me.”
Luke Aston, skipper of the Clare Dragoon, had already witnessed the weighing of a near-1,100lb six-gill shark aboard his vessel seven years ago, but admitted that Ben catch was the biggest of the species he’d ever seen.
He said: ““Ben’s shark was much bigger than that. It was 25ft long and weighed at least 1,500lb – easily the biggest shark I have ever seen.”
Ben Bond’s catch pictures for the species have been sent to the Irish Sea Fishing Association and are being assessed to see if a new record can be claimed. The fish was safely unhooked and returned.
