10yr-old girl breaks two fishing records
10yr-old girl breaks two fishing records
The London News.Net
Saturday 9th May, 2009 (ANI)
London, May 9 : A 10-year-old girl has broken two fishing records after she reeled in a monster catfish that weighed almost as much as she did.
Natalie Carter, who weighs five-stones, spent 45 gruelling minutes under the baking Thailand sun fighting a giant three-and-a-half stone Redtail catfish before getting it to the bank.
The fish, nearly as long as Natalie, gave her the world record in the Under-10 "small fry" category, and would have been an Under 16 record if she were eligible.
She topped off her day's angling by catching a Giant Snakehead fish weighing 3.31kg, earning herself another Under-10 World Record.
"They are fierce fighters and although adults offered to help her when she was exhausted, she refused to hand her rod over," the Sun quoted her proud dad David, 41, of Oxford, Oxon, as saying.
"If another angler had helped her fight the fish then the record would have been null and void.
"The temperature was 93F and her rod was bent double but she refused to give up and it took her 45 minutes to tire the fish and get it to the bank to be netted.
"There were anglers from Europe and America there who were clearly a bit jealous of her but I was very proud that she never gave up fighting it.
"Others might have thrown down the rod and given up but she battled on," he stated.
Carter was using live bait on the Ratchaburi Lake, which is two hours drive from Bangkok.
"It was great fun and dad was very jealous. It took me 45 minutes but I was determined to do it. I want to keep breaking big fish records!" she said.
Jean-Francois Helias, a professional guide, helped Carter in breaking the records.
"Catching a fish like this is an outstanding achievement for such a young person," he said.
"She had to fight for almost an hour under the torrid heat of the Thai sun during the dry season to reel in the catfish - it's a tremendous angling exploit.
"You would not believe how well she can fish at such a young age. She burst into tears and could not stop crying - it was very emotional for us to witness the whole thing," he added.
