- Joshua Davenport was fishing with his parents when the catfish came for his bait
A British boy has caught a 152-pound catfish while on holiday in Spain, breaking the European record for the largest freshwater fish caught by a child.
Joshua Davenport, 11, was fishing with his parents when the giant catfish took his bait.
Even though his rod was bent double, the youngster fought for 25 minutes to reel in the colossal catch.
It took three adults to lift it into a weigh belt and tipped the scales at a whopping 152 pounds. The 10-foot specimen dwarfed Joshua, who is 6 feet tall.
He has now broken the record for the largest freshwater fish caught by a boy in Europe. The giant catfish also crushed Joshua's previous personal record catch by more than 110 pounds.
Joshua Davenport caught a 152-pound catfish while on vacation in Spain (photo with his record-breaking catch above)
The enormous catfish is over 3 meters long and dwarfs Joshua, who is only 1.80 meters long
Joshua, from East Grinstead, West Sussex, hooked the fish during a recent trip to Spain's River Ebro with dad Pete and mum Lorna, who are also keen fishermen (pictured: the family with another large catfish that Joshua during the holidays)
Joshua, from East Grinstead, West Sussex, hooked the fish during a recent trip to Spain's River Ebro with dad Pete and mum Lorna, who are also keen fishermen.
His mother, 42, said: “Fishing is everything to Josh. He got his first fishing rod when he was four and caught his first catfish at age six, which weighed 22 pounds.
“It went from there. He has caught thousands of fish. He likes catfish because they are so big. We were in Spain for a week and he caught the big catch, his last fish of the trip.
'It was about 11.30am and Josh was swimming next to us with his cousin. You get a whistle when you catch a big fish and Pete and I heard it and ran over.
“Josh got the rod and he was fighting the catfish. The rod was bent and it was clear it was a big one.
“His dream is to catch one heavier than 100 pounds, so there was no way he could let it go. He did it brilliantly and it took him about 25 minutes.
“When he saw it, he just couldn't believe the size of it. It took three adults and Josh to lift him.”
After photos were taken with the mighty fish, it was returned to the river safe and sound.
Joshua's catch of 152 pounds is greater than the combined weight of both his mother and father's personal best catches, which are 72 pounds and 68 pounds respectively.
In 2009, Jessica Wanstall, 11, from Sittingbourne, Kent, hooked a catfish weighing almost 200 pounds from the River Ebro.
Joshua inherited his parents Lorna and Pete's passion for fishing (Pete and Joshua pictured above with large fish they caught together)