Model of recordbreaking salmon nets £11,250

Only a dozen fibreglass casts of largest salmon caught by rod and line exist

A rare model of the biggest salmon caught with a rod and line in British waters fetched a record £11,250 at auction yesterday.

The 64lb fish was hooked by Georgina Ballantine on the River Tay on October 7 1922.

The record – which still stands – made headlines around the world and inspired thousands of women to take up the sport.

One of only a dozen fibreglass casts of the fish went under the hammer at Bonhams Sporting Sale in Edinburgh where bidders pushed the price beyond twice the £3,000-£5,000 estimate.

It was eventually bought for £11,250 by an anonymous UK collector bidding on the phone.

Henry Baggot, Bonhams’ head of sporting sales, said: “There was a lot of interest, with three bidders particularly keen to own it.

“There may have been a dozen made but these casts remain very hard to come by. This is the best price that we’ve ever achieved for one of them.”

Miss Ballantine, 32, was fishing from a boat on the River Tay, accompanied by her father James, who was a ghillie.

She had already caught three fish weighing 25, 17 and 11lb when she hooked the record-breaking salmon at 6.15pm in the boat pool of the Glendelvine beat.

After a struggle lasting more than two hours, she landed it half a mile downstream.

Miss Ballantine – part of the Ballantine Whisky family – said such was the struggle, her arms remained swollen for two weeks afterwards.

The original fish was cast in plaster by PD Malloch’s and is held at Glendelvine Estate, near Dunkeld, the home of Sir Gavin Lyle.

The 12 limited edition replicas were cast in fibreglass by George Jamieson of Edinburgh.

It has been assumed that Miss Ballantine’s record is unassailable as salmon stocks have fluctuated in recent decades and far fewer large fish are being caught in Britain’s major rivers.

Georgina Ballantine with her 64lb salmon caught in 1922.