A retired naval officer landed an 18-stone fish using a tiny piece of sweetcorn as bait on a fishing trip.
Welshman David Kent, 54, battled the monstrous catfish for an hour while on holiday in Thailand with his wife Isabel.
David, of Tenby, had not caught anything in the lake in Krabi all day when the Giant Mekong Catfish had a nibble.
The species, which is threatened with extinction, holds the record for the largest freshwater fish in the world and has been seen to grow as large as 660lbs, or 300kg.
David’s, which was more than 7ft long, weighed a mere 260lbs – or 18-and-a-half stone.
David said: “The fish must have been hungry because it went for a tiny piece of corn.
“It was a good fight and at one point I had to get into the lake to keep up with it.
“But after 55 minutes I managed to bring it towards the bank and into my net.”
It took David and two men to support the creature for a photograph to prove it was not just another fishy tale.
Isabel, 51, missed the drama because she was sunning herself alongside an infinity pool at the couple’s hotel in the Krabi, Southern Thailand.
David – known as Dai – said: “I usually catch bass weighing four or five pounds off the Pembrokeshire coast so this was a bit bigger than I’m used to.”
And the specimen fish will live to fight another day.
After being weighed and photographed it was gently returned to the water.
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