Schoolgirl nets 9ft monster fish

Jessica Wanstall, from Sittingbourne, Kent, hooked the fish during a trip to Spain's River Ebro Photo: BNPS

Schoolgirl angler Jessica Wanstall netted a record when she hooked this monster fish that was more than twice the size of her.

Published: 6:30PM BST

15 Jul 2009

Jessica was nearly dragged into the water when the catfish weighing nearly 200lbs took her bait.

The plucky youngster spent 20 minutes fighting the beast and needed a helping hand from dad Mark to heave it out of the water.

At nearly 9ft long and weighing 13.7 stones, the impressive specimen dwarfed 11-year-old Jessica, who stands at 4ft 10ins and weighs 5.7 stones.

She is now broken the record for the biggest freshwater fish caught by a child in Europe.

Jessica, from Sittingbourne, Kent, hooked the fish during a trip to Spain's River Ebro.

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 onto the bank and I stood back and just laughed when I saw it. It was massive."

The mutant fish tipped the scales at an impressive 193lbs.

Jessica is normally used to catching "tiddlers" and it was 13 times bigger than her previous record of a 15lbs carp fish.

It was 150lbs bigger than her 13-year-old brother Spencer's best catch and 10lbs greater than her dad's best effort in 40 years of fishing.

Mark, a 49-year-old engineer, said: "Jessica normally catches tiddlers but just loves a day's fishing.

"I have been to the River Ebro before but I took Jessica this time as a present.

"We were fishing for carp bit we obviously knew there were catfish in the river as well.

"Then she got a bite on her rod and she was off, going towards the water so I grabbed hold of her.

"As the fish got near we could see how big it was. Then its tail came out of the water and it looked like the Loch Ness Monster. Everybody in the bank was gasping.

"I'm so proud of her."

Mark, Jessica and family friend Gary Peet landed 51 catfish during their trip, but Jessica's was by far the biggest.

Their fishing guide Bodo Kunkel, who runs Bavarian Guildng Services on the River Ebro, said: "It was a large fish, much bigger than Jessica.

"She couldn't close her mouth afterwards, she was, how do you say, over the moon.

"She is the only child to have caught a freshwater fish that big in Spain and probably Europe."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5834754/Schoolgirl-nets-9ft-monster-fish.html