“This giant catfish took me on a tour of the lake” - Robert Ayers

“My mates and I went carp fishing at Newdigate Farm Fisheries in Dorking, Surrey, but I ended up catching my first-ever catfish weighing 94lb!
“We arrived at 9.30am but the action was really slow, and I only managed to catch a bream. In mid-afternoon I changed my rig and cast out a 15mm pop-up boilie, and within half-an-hour I caught a 15lb common. I put the same set-up on to my second rod.
“A little while later I was having a laugh with my mates, saying how I wouldn’t mind catching a catfish. Not long after that my second rod screamed off!
“The fight that followed was something I’ve never experienced before as the fish took me on a tour of the lake. I got it to within a couple of rodlengths of the bank, at which point we saw it was a cat! It took off again and wiped out another angler’s lines!
“I’ve no idea how long the fight was, but my mate recorded a six-minute video of us just trying to get it into our net. Luckily the fishery owner was on hand to help. When he confirmed that it was a new lake record I couldn’t believe it. Not bad for my first cat!”