Daniel Storey, 31, landed the monstrous catch in a river near the town of Mequinenza in north-eastern Spain earlier this week while on holiday with two of his friends.
A Brit on holiday with his lads was left with a memory to last a lifetime after he managed to catch a 250lb mega catfish.
Daniel Storey, 31, landed the monstrous catch in a river near the town of Mequinenza in north-eastern Spain earlier this week while on holiday with two of his friends.
The fish, which was returned to the water shortly after the group posed for photos, was later identified as a Wels catfish and came close to breaking the world record for the species.
Wels catfish average 120 pounds and are typically four to five feet long.
While the record weight for the species is 297.6 pounds, locals were still amazed by the massive catch, which measured 8 feet 2 inches, Dan said.
Roofer Dan, from Carlisle, has been a keen angler for 10 years and said he was “over the moon” to catch the monster fish.
He said: “I never really expected this. Catching a huge fish like this is something you dream about.
“I had never caught anything that big before, so I didn’t know how it would feel, and I only realised it was pretty special from the reaction of my friends.
“I didn’t even realize how wonderful it was until the townspeople patted me on the back the next day.”
He was on the first day of a week-long fishing trip with friends Lewis Pattinson and Martin Irwin, both 32, when he reeled in the massive catch.
A 40-minute struggle finally led to the capture of the catfish, which was so large that the group needed to use a sling to pull it out of the water.
Peter Irwin, 41, of Monster Catfishing Tours, the company running the tour, was with the boys at the time.
He said: “It’s a brilliant catch and extremely rare – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event.
“This is the biggest one I’ve ever driven.
“I’ve seen people come here fishing for 20 years and not catch anything like it.
“It was really their lucky day. I don’t usually take people fishing on the first day, but they insisted.”
