fish

The tiddler who caught a monster: Schoolgirl angler nets record catch that's twice her size and weighs 14stone

ByDAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 12:21 AM on 16th July 2009

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There should only have been one winner. On the riverbank was Jessica Wanstall, 4ft 10in tall weighing less than six stone (84lb) and something of a tiddler among anglers.

In the river was a monster, a near 9ft catfish that hit the scales at a record 13st 8lb (193lb).

But despite its size and whiskery age, the fish was no match for the skills of 11-year-old Jessica who waged a 20-minute battle to land her prize.

What a catch: Jessica Wanstall with the 9ft-long, 14 stone catfish she caught during a trip to Spain's River Ebro

Jessica, from Sittingbourne, Kent, hooked the fish during a trip with her father to the Ebro River in North-East Spain. She said: ‘I didn’t realise just how big it was until I saw the photos afterwards. I look tiny next to it.

‘My dad thought it was going to be a small one and I told him it didn’t feel small when I picked up the rod. It was really hard work pulling it in and my arms turned to jelly.

‘My dad helped lift it on to the bank and I just laughed when I saw it. It was massive.’

Her father Mark, a 49-year-old engineer, helped return the catfish to the river after his daughter’s triumph was photographed.

He said: ‘Jessica normally catches tiddlers but just loves a day’s fishing.

Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1199848/Now-huge-fish-Schoolgirl-angler-nets-record-catch-twice-size-thats-9ft-long-weighs-14stone.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0LX2fqkSj