Threshers top ton in milestone catch

A trio of thresher sharks has brought the total of sea species over 100lb to a magnificent seven for a UK charter boat.

Size Matters, skippered by Kevin McKie, had already taken ton-up blue, porbeagle and six-gill sharks, along with common and white skate and bluefin tuna – but an exciting new predator was about to be added on the latest 96-hour trip.

Kevin said: “We all knew this was going to be a challenge as none of us had ever seen a thresher before, let alone caught one – but we ended the trip with three weighing 60lb, 100lb and 150lb.”

Best mates Phil Riley, John Owen and Tony McQuillan had booked Size Matters for a four-day trip off Plymouth, Devon.

After catching fresh mackerel for bait just offshore, Kevin steamed Size Matters 100 miles out, and it wasn’t long before the first thresher was hooked.

“As soon as Phil set the drag, the fish went airborne,” Kevin added. “It was a thresher estimated at around 200lb. After a 20-minute fight we had it to within 20m of the back of the boat, when it suddenly spat out the hook. We were all gutted.”

Three further threshers managed to shake the circle hooks near to the boat, but a switch to a smaller pattern saw the next fish firmly hooked by Kevin. 

“It was early morning, and I was shouting at the other lads to wake up, as I had no butt pad on and just flip-flops on my feet. The fish was heading towards the bows,” he said. Kevin fought the fish for 30 minutes before eventually boarding it.

“An approved length-to-weight table revealed that it weighed just over 100lb, and I’d got my seventh species weighing more than 100lb,” he said.

John was next with an estimated 150lb thresher, and moments later Tony boated one of around 60lb, bringing the crew’s tally to three.

Kevin added: “By the time it was Phil’s turn on the rods again, we started to lose daylight, the tope moved in and the threshers disappeared. Sadly, it was time to leave and steam back to port.”

Kevin now has his sights set on catching an eighth species in excess of 100lb from UK waters. Conger eels are the likely target.