20-year-old Jack Griffiths was only expecting to catch a few carp. (SWNS)
A fisherman from Oxfordshire, England, reeled in a 102-pound catfish from the Rock Lakes in central France earlier this week, but he claims he was only expecting to catch a few carp.
"I knew it was a big fish but I didn't know how big until I saw it,” said 20-year-old Jack Griffiths, according to SWNS. “I was astonished. We needed bigger scales to weigh it on. It's the biggest fish I've ever caught."
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Griffiths, a longtime fisherman, said he was forced to use “every muscle” in his body to reel in the catfish, which weighed more than two-thirds of what he does (147 pounds). He also put his fishing rod to the test, as it was only outfitted with 20-pound line.
"To say the rod I [used] wasn’t suited for this fish is an understatement,” he said, adding that it “stepped up to the job.”
Griffiths released the catfish back into the lake, but not before he snapped a few photos with it, and not before the fish left its mark on him.
Griffiths, who has been fishing since he was 3, said he was forced to use “every muscle” in his body to reel in the catfish. (SWNS)
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"This fish battered and bruised me,” Griffiths said, per The Oxford Times. “I experienced aches and pains in places I’ve never felt before, but I sure wasn’t going to give in.”
Griffiths’ previous largest catch was a 33-pound carp.