Woman breaks fishing record after reeling in 251lb catfish...

A woman who took up fishing to see more of her angling-mad boyfriend has become a record holder after catching a 215lb catfish.

Alexa Turness, from Holland Park, West London, landed the giant while on holiday in Spain after battling to reel it in for half an hour.
It was more than 1.5 times the 28-year-old's weight and 8ft 4in long.

The fish was so big her boyfriend and tour guides feared she might get dragged into the river, and were ready to grab her as she fought to land it.
It is the biggest freshwater fish caught by a British woman anywhere in the world and beats the previous record by a pound.

Miss Turness easily outdid her boyfriend Kim Hamilton, who could only muster a fish weighing 189lbs during their trip on the River Segre in northern Spain.
Miss Turness, an events director, said: ‘My  boyfriend is really into fishing so when we got together seven or eight years ago I got into it too. It was a case of go fishing with him or don’t see him.’

She said the catfish took the bait at about 11.30pm on the third night of the trip.

‘I just had to hold on for my life,’ she said. ‘It took about 30 minutes, but I wasn’t going to give up. I was amazed when I saw how big it was.’

She added: ‘My boyfriend is quite gutted. We took it in turns on the rods, and this just happened to be my turn.’ After Miss Turness posed with her catch and returned it to the water, the couple celebrated her achievement with a glass of Spanish brandy on the river bank.

Mr Hamilton, also 28, said: ‘It was Lex’s turn on the rod – just luck of the draw.

‘We were all going to sleep when suddenly we heard the line stripping from the spool and  we knew it was going to be a monster.

‘We were all stood around Lex ready to catch her in case the fish pulled her in. Now I have to accept that my missus has caught a bigger one than me.’

The previous record for the biggest freshwater fish caught by a British woman was held by Sheila Penfold, 56, from Wandsworth, South London, who caught a 214lb catfish in Spain last year.

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