Chris Proctor is a very lucky man.
Proctor broke the fishing record for the biggest cod ever caught in the English Channel. It was his first sea fishing trip.
The 31-year-old took to the seas with a group of friends only after being goaded into it.
“I almost didn’t go on the trip because I had so much work on but the rest of the guys talked me into it – thank god they did. None of us could believe our eyes when we got it on the boat and saw it’s size. It was an amazing experience and a once in a lifetime catch,” Proctor told the Metro UK.
Proctor said he thought he had snagged a shipwreck, given the tremendous weight on his hook, but knew it was something extraordinary – and alive – once the reel screamed. The battle to land the fish took more than a half hour, and left Proctor spent and covered with bruises – the rod slammed into his stomach and midsection. The cod weighed 43 pounds 9 ounces. The previous record for the English Channel was 35-pound fish taken in 2000.
Proctor has feasted on his trophy many times since last week.
“I’ve had pan fried cod, cod in batter, a beautiful fish stew and a fish pie,” Proctor said. “I can’t tell you how much freezer space it has taken up.”
Was this really beginners luck? Or does Proctor have a successful fishing career ahead of him? And am I the only one who didn’t know that the English Channel had fish in it? I thought it was just something people swam across to get on the news.
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