What a whopper Self-confessed‘Eddie the Eagle of angling’ lands fish of a lifetime on day out at Loch Earn
“I regard myself as the Eddie the Eagle of the fishing community. I’m a wee bit blown away with the publicity and the comments I’ve been getting but I was just in the right place at the right time.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever caught anything like this and I’ll probably never ever do it again.”
Alex Murray, of Loch Earn Fisheries and Drummond Estates Boat Hire, has also sent scale samples to the Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory in Pitlochry for confirmation of the fish’s age.
Alex said Loch Earn has a reputation for producing big fish.
He explained: “In April 2012, also on Loch Earn, Gary Sinclair from Bathgate – an associate member season ticket holder – almost broke the British record for an Arctic Charr with a fish of 8lbs 12ozs, only 12ozs short of the current record held by W Fairbairn at 9lbs 8ozs with a fish from Loch Arkaig near Inverness in 2005.
“The heaviest brown trout taken in Loch Earn was a specimen of 26lbs 10ozs and was taken by Archie Somerville from Bonnybridge in 2005. At that time, it was the sixth heaviest brown trout landed in the UK.
“The current record for brown trout stands at 31lbs 12ozs taken by Brian Rutland at Loch Awe in 2002.
“In season 2016, we have had numerous brown trout caught in Loch Earn in excess of 20lbs which have been returned and its only a matter of time before one of these fish turns out to be a record-breaker.”