The Codfather... I reeled in a record 66lb fish
A BRITISH angler has been nicknamed The Codfather after reeling in a world record 66lb 8oz fish – then giving it to locals to make 200 suppers.
Tom Ascott, 32, said it felt as if he had hooked a London bus when he cast off from a Norwegian shore and the cod took his herring bait.
He spent 30 minutes struggling to haul in the whopper, which at one point swam off trailing 600ft of line.
The fish was 22lb heavier than the previous record for a shore- caught cod, which had stood for nearly 50 years.
Tom’s fish was 4ft 9in long and had a girth of nearly 3ft. It was donated to the locals in Bodo, Norway, where he was fishing.
They dubbed him The Codfather after the fish gave them a massive feast.
Builder Tom, of Sturminster Newton, Dorset, said: “The fish was so big I could have squeezed my head inside its mouth. I didn’t know how big it was at first, just that it was going to be a big fish.
“After half an hour I was almost spent and my fishing pal leapt down on to the ledge I was on and helped pull it out of the water. The fish was too weak to put back, so I donated it to the locals.”
However, the epic feat might leave the father of two out of pocket. He said he had promised to buy his wife Katie a new car if he caught a big fish.