A 14-year-old angler has caught a 195-pound skate, a fish that was twice his size, in what is believed to be a record-breaking catch for a junior angler in Britain. The massive flatfish was hooked on Henry Ralph's first cast during a fishing trip near Oban in Argyll & Bute, Scotland.
Initially mistaking the weight for seaweed, Ralph soon realized he had hooked a substantial creature when it began to pull him towards the water. He spent two grueling hours reeling the skate to shore. With the help of his fishing guide, Michael Hannah, they estimated the fish's weight to be 195 pounds (13 stone) and measured its dimensions at 81 inches long and 69 inches wide.
Ralph, who hails from Lossiemouth in Moray and has been fishing since he was eight, described the experience as the "fight of a lifetime." He expressed his determination not to let go of the catch despite the immense effort required.
"When I saw it flailing around about 20 yards from the shore, that's when I realised how big it was. I was just shocked at the size of it," Ralph stated. Hannah, from Moray Skate Guide, expressed his astonishment at the young angler's accomplishment, noting that Ralph managed the catch entirely on his own.
After posing for photographs, Ralph and Hannah released the skate back into the sea unharmed. While there is no official nationwide junior record for all fish species, this catch is considered one of the largest ever by a child in Britain.
Previous notable junior catches include Joshua Davenport, 11, who in 2023 landed a 152-pound catfish in Spain, setting a European record for the largest freshwater fish caught by a child. That specimen measured nine feet long. In 2022, Callum Pettit, then 11, caught a 96-pound, 10-ounce common carp in France, establishing a junior angling record for that species.