Fintastic catches for local anglers

A pair of anglers are ‘very proud’ after hauling in two mammoth catfish in marathon battles in the Spanish village of Riba Roja.
Neil James and Alan Brumwell with their huge catchNeil James and Alan Brumwell with their huge catch
Neil James and Alan Brumwell with their huge catch

Neil James, 52, from Horsham, and Alan Brumwell, 47, from Ashington, both reeled in personal best catches - Neil landing a 151lb monster, with Alan’s fish weighing in at 161lb.

Neil said the pair have spent decades fishing on home waters, and ‘wanted a new challenge’ - where the fish are bigger.

He said: “It is by far the biggest I have caught.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It took a lot of effort. It was just over 40 degrees on the boat, so it was baking hot.

“I had a big sense of achievement. It is so difficult to pull it over the side of the boat when it is that size.”

Neil has visited the angling goldmine ‘seven or eight’ times before and caught a number of fish weighing over 100lb, but Alan was successful with his first attempt at the hotspot.

Neil added: “As soon as you get a fish of that size you start to suffer a little bit of pain - the fight with the fish took 35 to 40 minutes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It was basically hanging on for dear life but because you have got 11 stone trying to go one way and you try to take it the other way.

“Alan is extremely proud because that was his first time over there. To land a fish of that size was either extremely skilful or extremely lucky!”

Even though their recent captures were longer than both men, Neil said that the pair aim to go back again to catch some even bigger catfish.

Related topics: