Giant fish, no scales
A salmon thought to be the biggest ever caught in Britain will not enter the record books – because it was too big for the scales.
The giant fish was 56 inches long, 50 inches round and could have been more than 64lbs, reports the Daily Mirror.
Anglers hoped it would break the UK record set 85 years ago but had to set it free after realising their scales only weighed up to 30lbs.
Ghillie Grant Sutherland, who witnessed the catch in the River Ness near Inverness, said: “I have never come across a fish like that before.
“We couldn’t weigh it because we didn’t have scales big enough. All I can say is it was the biggest fish I’ve seen – by a mile.
“The man who caught it was an experienced angler and his reaction was one of shock – it took about 45 minutes to land.”
The anglers sent photos of the monster to marine experts in the hope they may be able to estimate the weight.
But David Rowe, secretary of the British Fish Record Committee, said: “It has to be weighed on certified scales. You cannot estimate the British record.”
The record is held by Georgina Ballantyne who caught a 64lb salmon in 1922 in Perthshire.
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