Blind woman lands 214-pound fish

[The Straight Story]

Blind woman lands 214-pound fish


LONDON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- A blind British grandmother landed a 214-pound freshwater catfish while vacationing with her family in Spain, her relatives said.

Sheila Penfold, 56, of London, said her husband, Alan, and son, Arthur, guided her as she struggled with the huge catfish, believed to be the largest ever freshwater fish landed by a British woman, for 30 minutes before yanking it from the River Ebro, The Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

Penfold said she had to examine the fish up close to really appreciate its size," she said. "I was exhausted but elated afterwards. The record has taken a while to sink in."

"I'm still walking around with a smile on my face. But it goes to show that just because you are blind it doesn't stop you breaking records like this," Penfold said.

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/01/19/Blind-woman-lands-214-pound-fish/UPI-29311263936350/

[KittyWampus]

1. sad thing around here, boats go out and when you catch a big one like that the captain really wants

to bring it in rather than release it.

a 214 lb catfish would make some very tough eating.

[MineralMan]

2. Yeah, some guides and captains want to keep the big ones

to use for advertising purposes. But not all. I fished a couple of summers ago with a guide on the Mississippi here in Minnesota. He's a catch and release guy. He caught a record breaking catfish last year and just released it. On a radio program, he said, more or less, "Hell, I knew I caught it. That's enough for me."

That's my attitude, too. I've caught three fish in the past four years that would have qualified me for a Minnesota Master Angler certificate. All you have to do is photograph the fish, weigh it, and provide length and girth information. What I did was look at the fish for 30 seconds while I unhooked it, then released it. All that handling to fulfill the requirements is hard on a fish and might cause it to die later. I know I caught them, so why do I need a certificate?