​British Pensioner Catches Fish The Size Of Her Sofa

A British pensioner managed to seriously surprise herself by hooking a giant 130lb bass while on a fishing trip in Perth, though not before a 40-minute tussle with the beast.

Sue Elcock - who is from Lilleshall in Shropshire - was visiting her 49-year-old son Simon, who lives in Western Australia with his wife Michelle.

Sue, 68, decided to join Simon on a charter boat for a 5am fishing trip off the coast of Lancelin, not expecting to catch more than a tiddler. But she soon surpassed herself with what she originally thought was a 'fair-sized fish'.

Except it turned out to be anything but, and 40 minutes later, Sue, Simon and others on the boat eventually lumbered a giant bass grouper onto the boat.

Reel Force Charters

The giant fish was apparently the size of a sofa, and at 5ft 4in long was even two inches longer than Sue.

Sue told The Sun: "Simon is an experienced sea angler and I have been out with him before when I have been visiting he and Michelle.

"The biggest fish I've caught before was a snapper about a foot long and when this one took the bait on the bottom the tug on the line didn't seem much.

"I was using one of Simon's electric reels but it still took nearly an hour to get him on board.

"And I just couldn't believe the size of it when it reared it's head out the water. It was the size of a settee."

While Simon is 49, it seems Sue's still playing mum and making sure he stays well-fed, having said that the big fish has been put in the freezer for months' worth of meals.

She added: "Someone said you would need an awful lot of chips to go with a fish like that.

"I've helped cut him up and get all that fish into the freezer. Simon and Michelle will be enjoying fish barbies for months when I'm long back in the UK."

On the boat company's Facebook page, a video was posted showing Sue in action, saying that she'd smashed back two beers before 'the men have barely wiped the sleep from their eyes'.

And it seems as though even keen fisher Simon was impressed by his mum's haul, telling The Sun: "Mum caught a giant fish and I was thrilled for her. The photo of her holding the fish is one to treasure."

Sue's also staying with Simon until the end of the month, meaning there's plenty more time for her to squeeze in some more fishing - now that she's proven she's got quite the knack for it.

Topics: UK News, UK, fishing, Animals, Australia

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman