The specimen, was weighed by Total Sea Fishing – who caught up with it’s captor just a few hours after the fish was beached – at a massive 18lb 15oz 12drm – just ounces short of the current British record.
The man responsible for the catch was Chinese angler Tsong Va SaN from Lewisham in south east London who is a regular visit to the beach. Although his English was limited, he was more than aware of the enormity if the fish he has just caught.
“He knew exactly what he had caught and was as blown away as I was with the size of the fish,” said Total Sea Fishing’s Deputy Editor Roger Mortimore who witnessed the catch. “It was by far the biggest bass I have ever seen in the flesh and as we didn’t weigh it some three hours after it came to the shore it most have been over 19lb when it was caught.”
The specimen fell for whole squid hookbait cast just 30yards from the beach, with Tsong beating the fish using a Penn Powerstix rod combined with an Abu 7000 loaded with 35lb Ultima F1 line.
The current British shore-caught bass record is held by Isle of White angler Steve Caves at a weight of 19lb 11oz 12dr.
