Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Sons follow dad’s footsteps
Record-breaking Canterbury angler Andy Griffith has got his kids hooked.
It’s nearly four years since Griffith landed the catch of a lifetime, hauling in the first mako shark caught in UK waters for more than 40 years.
The acclaimed shark angler hooked a six-foot, 194lb mako on a boat trip 30 miles off the Welsh coast and was credited with a record as it was the first mako ever caught in Welsh waters.
Last week, Griffith – who has also hauled in huge blue and porbeagle sharks – took his two sons fishing from the beach at Reculver.
He said: “I am concentrating on teaching them shore fishing this year before progressing to go offshore and they have got off to a fine start. We set off to target rays for the first time and were rewarded well.”
Eldest son Harry, nine, managed to reel in a true specimen thornback ray of 11lb 2oz and Mr Griffith said: “It was his first ever ray and he may never beat it as it’s a huge ray from the beach. I videoed the battle, he did so well and had to have a sit down afterwards.”
Soon after, seven-year-old Sam managed to reel in his first ray, weighing 7lb 10oz and a smaller fish of 4lb 7oz. All fish were returned safely after photos were taken.
Mr Griffith added: “It was a special day and I was so proud of them both. Harry also reminded me that he has now landed a bigger thornback ray from the shore than I have.”
William Weller took top spot as the Herne Bay Angling Association competed for the Harlow Cup on Sunday.
The boat competition took place in flat, calm seas but due to the strong tides, the skate were hard to find.
Weller won with five skate weighing 34.34lb while fishing near the Middle Bank off Reculver.
Fishing just 50 yards north of Weller was Bill Hards who caught 30.62lb of fish for second place, followed by Chris King with 22.84lb including the heaviest fish a skate of 11.66lb.
Nick Witton caught 14 fish to take the greatest number consisting of skate, dogfish and whiting weighing a total of 22.32lb.
The Herne Bay beaches have been crowded with anglers from all over Kent being one of the top skate fishing spots in the South East.
Anglers were not disappointed, with most catching skate averaging 5–7lb, with the largest recorded by Herne Bay angler Keith Neame with a fish weighing just over 11lb. However, with the strong spring tides, the skate have stopped feeding and catches have been poor but should improve leading up to the neap tides.