Record Fish Landed by Rod

The Hill Billy

Article in today's Indo

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/pensioner-sets-record-by-reeling-in-giant-shark-with-fishing-rod-1779397.html

The Indo wrote:

Pensioner sets record by reeling in giant shark with fishing rod

Friday June 19 2009

IT'S a twist on the Hemingway classic 'The Old Man and the Sea'.

A pensioner has landed the largest ever fish caught on a rod and line in Irish and British waters off the Co Clare coast.

Ernest Hemingway's 1952 novella tells the story of an ageing Cuban fisherman who spends days landing a giant marlin after an epic battle.

Swiss man Joe Waldis (70) yesterday described his own feat as "the fight of my life" after landing a sixgill shark weighing almost half a tonne.

"I still can't believe it. When I go to sleep at night, I still can't believe it. It was the fight of my life."

More accustomed to fishing for pollock, Mr Waldis described the 12ft 9in shark as "a monster".

Mr Waldis said that for 35 minutes he had been struggling with the shark, which first got hooked on his line with mackerel bait 60m below in a stretch of sea north of Loop Head on Tuesday afternoon.

Fishing since he was a young boy, Mr Waldis said: "I didn't know what I was dealing with until the shark came to the surface. It is like getting all your numbers in the Lotto to get a fish like this.

"I could be going to the same place a hundred times and never land a fish like this. Other fishermen can only dream of something like this."

Owner of the Clare Dragoon charter boat, Luke Aston, of the Carrigaholt Sea Angling Centre, said: "It's unbelievable. We knew that Joe had hooked on to something big and we strapped him in and the fight was on."

Towed

The shark was too big to haul up into the boat and it was towed by the Clare Dragoon into Carrigaholt.

It then had to be transported by forklift to a local quarry to be weighed on the quarry's weigh bridge.

He said: "It came in at 480 kilos or 1,056 lbs -- the biggest ever fish caught by a rod and line in the British Isles. Joe is a very fit 70-year-old. The previous record was for a blue fin tuna that weighed 999 lbs."

Mr Aston said that his boat caught a similar size sixgill shark in the same area last year, but it wasn't weighed and was returned to the ocean.

Mr Waldis said: "The shark's liver alone weighed 143kg. That gives you an idea of the size of the fish".

partyguinness

Fair play to him. Any ideas what type of shark it was?

Is it not good enough that it was the biggest in Irish waters, why do the Brits have to associated with this moment of glory. Always sticking their oars in..

stevoman

i was just looking at the pictures on the independent with the shark hanging out of the forklift. a great achievment to catch a shark of that size no doubt, but was it released after?

fiacha

Irish Independent wrote:

Article in today's Indo

[url]Mr Waldis said: "The shark's liver alone weighed 143kg. That gives you an idea of the size of the fish". [/url]

Doesn't sound like it was in any state to go back to the water

I'm all for harvesting game, but I really don't like the idea of taking them as a trophy. Any chance of this fish ending up on the table ?

partyguinness

stevoman wrote: »

i was just looking at the pictures on the independent with the shark hanging out of the forklift. a great achievment to catch a shark of that size no doubt, but was it released after?

The liver weighed 143kg which would suggest to me, it wasnt released back..:eek:

A-Trak

I'd say definitely not, unless he can breathe air thats one dead fish.

Indo wrote:

It then had to be transported by forklift to a local quarry to be weighed on the quarry's weigh bridge

Edit - and also live without a liver!

stevoman

well feck the ould swiss coffin dodger then. Im all for taking tho odd trout out of the river for dinner and shooting rabbits, dcuks, pheasents etc once they are going on your table, but there;s no need to take a shark out of the water if its just for a trophy.

Itsdacraic

What kind of gear would he have been using the land something like that?
I must get some 1000lb line for my rod.

Zzippy

Itsdacraic wrote: »

What kind of gear would he have been using the land something like that?
I must get some 1000lb line for my rod.

80lb mainline AFAIK, probably 80lb class rod too. Wire trace and I'd say a 300lb mono rubbling leader, and probably a 10/0 hook.

Kess73

Terrible news that they killed it. It was not even an unusually big bluntnose six gill shark as they can grow to another six foot in length onto what that shark was.



It is a shark species where more gets learned from fossil remains than living ones as there are more fossils of them than living ones at this stage.

King K

This is the Second Six Gill Shark from Luke Astons Boat, The First was returned alive by a Dutch Angler and was of a similar size but what a good fish to catch on Rod and Reel but I do think this one should also have been returned alive and Shame on Mr.Joe Waldris from Switzerland for doing what he did :mad:. These are a near extinct species.They are currently giving out samples of the Shark from Sea Lyons Seafood in Carrigaholt.

SeaFields

That fish should have been released unharmed. Its a bloody disgrace it wasn't and the skipper should take some blame too. If the angler wanted to keep it as a trophy the skipper should have insisted on it being released.

You would think most anglers would know better in this day and age...:mad:

King K

Seafileds,

I agree, unfortunately it's not entirely up to the Skipper. There is a Tag and Release system which the vast majority of Skippers adhere to but it is not Law. As I said earlier the skipper did release one around the same size last year but it was down to the angler to decide. You can read both reports on the Shannon Fisheries Board Web Site under Sea Angling Reports. Luke Aston 2008 for the Previous.

The Skippers 1st Report was Very Detailed but this one is Very Short, I can only assume that he was disappointed with the fish been taken as he only wrote a few lines.

SeaFields

Thanks king k

All my sea fishing is done from the shore and I'm not sure how the whole skipper thing works and how much say he would have into a fish being released. Only been on a charter once and that was out of Jersey, in the channel islands. Skipper told us (mixed group, i was there with a friend) that all fish were to be released. Obviously except for bait! We didn't argue but had no intention of keeping anything anyway.

Still angers me looking at the pick though. Its like something out of film "jaws" where the fisherman conquers the big, bad shark. Terrible.

Kess73

What is interesting is that they found a seven gill shark off the Kerry coast.


Where you get seven gill sharks you normally get Great whites.



http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/features/dadum-dadum-theyre-getting-closer-74711.html




Ballybunion may become the new Amity

SeaFields

I've been saying for some time that theres a good chance a great white will be spotted here soon. Think there have been a few unconfirmed sightings off Cornwall in england? Even up in Scottish waters too - which I would be slightly more skeptical about.

Waters are getting warmer and a little swim up the gulf stream is nothing for a great white.

As the article you linked to says Kess...

da dum, da dum, da dum, da dum...

King K

Seafields,

Likewise, fish alot from the shore myself back around west clare and keep only for the Table. Have gone out on a Charter for Tope on the Shannon Estuary and all Tope were tagged and released. (The way to Go)

SeaFields

Summer sea fishing for me is done in Kerry - all rock fishing (unless the seatrout are running - another thread in itself). I hear tope are possible in a couple of areas close by my usual spot from the shore, but i haven't the gear to try for them (or the expertise ). Some day though...

Have had some big congers off the rocks but its usually the smaller species.

On a lighter note was float fishing for pollock last year off a deep water rock mark outside of cahersiveen. Daydreaming away to myself on the edge of the water when a basking shark surfaced (quite literally) within arms reach. Scared the living sh!t out of me!

King K

These sharks primarily inhabit coastal regions where the water temperature ranges between 12 degrees C to 24 degrees C - 54 degrees F to 75 degrees F.

So it is only a matter of time before we start to these Great Whites in our Waters as the Coastal Water Temp from June to Sept Ranges from 12-15 Degs C

DTrotter

I saw a show on BBC a couple years ago about Great Whites spotted of the UK, one expert reckoned the only reason they aren't an established species is lack of food such as a large seal poulation.