British lads reel in monster 250lb catfish while on holiday in Spain

A group of British lads reeled in a monster 250lb catfish while on holiday in Spain, with the bloke who ran the trip saying it’s the ‘biggest’ he’s ever handled.

While many other people’s mates’ holidays in Spain might involve hitting the superclubs of Ibiza, sunning it up in Magaluf or running with the bulls in Pamplona (it’s a hard no from me on that last one), these guys found themselves being patted on the back by impressed locals after a seriously huge catch.

Daniel Storey, 31, was on the first day of a week-long fishing trip with mates Lewis Pattinson and Martin Irwin, both 32, when he hooked the gigantic beast.

The fish, which was caught in a river near the town of Mequinenza, north-east Spain, earlier this week, was later identified as a Wels catfish.

SWNS

It weighed a whopping 246lbs, with the record weight for the species being 297.6lbs.

After the group posed for pictures, the fish was returned to the water, but it wasn’t until the next day that their incredible feat sunk in.

Storey, a roofer from Carlisle who has fished for 10 years, said he was ‘over the moon’.

“I really never expected this,” he explained.

“Catching a massive fish like this is something you dream of.

"I've never caught anything close to that big so I didn't know what it would feel like, and I only realised it was quite special because of the reaction of my friends.

"I didn't even realise how amazing it was until people from the village were patting me on the back the next day."

SWNS

It took the friends 40 minutes to land the massive fish, which had to be hauled out of the river Segre using a sling.

At 246lbs, it weighed more than double the average Wels catfish size of 120lbs, and also measured 8ft 2ins long, compared to the average length of between 4ft 3ins and 5ft 3ins.

Wels catfish have long grey bodies, large eyes and mouths, and have more than 250,000 taste buds.

They use their long whiskers to feel and taste, eating a diet of fish and birds.

Peter Irwin, 41, of Monster Catfishing Tours, the company running the tour, had been with the lads at the time.

Irwin, who moved to Spain 14 years ago, said: "It's a brilliant catch, and extremely rare - it's a once-in-a-lifetime event.

"This is the biggest I've ever handled.

"I've seen people come fishing here for 20 years and not catch anything like that.

"It really was their lucky day. I don't usually take people out fishing on day one but they insisted."