26-07-2025
Teenager reels in 6ft fish
At 18 years old and 6ft tall, Charlie Braithwaite is no small fry – but he was shocked to reel in a fish as large as himself.
Charlie and his father Carl Braithwaite, were on a fishing trip off the coast of Norway near Tromso with friends, as a double celebration to mark Charlie completing his A-levels, and his father's 50th birthday.
Charlie managed to reel in a 165lb halibut, which took an hour to get on the boat and three men to pull it back off again at the end of the trip.
Photographs show Charlie posing alongside the fish, which is almost taller than him as it hangs from a weighing hook.
Carl, from Holton-le-Clay, said: 'It's definitely the biggest fish we've ever caught. We go every year, me and my friends, but we've never caught anything like this.
'This is the second time Charlie has been and he didn't catch anything last year, but now he's hooked a monster.'
Carl, who's been sea fishing for more than 15 years, said they'd be sharing it out among their friends and family.
He said: 'We normally fish in the River Humber and I've been sea fishing for more than 15 years now – but it's my 50th birthday, so this has been a bit of a break for my birthday and to mark Charlie finishing his A-levels, before he goes to Loughborough University to do chemical engineering.
'I don't know how many people this can feed. We've caught a few more but nothing like this. We'll be bringing it all home to share out among the group and for friends and family.'
If the fish is prepared to serve up fillets weighing around six to eight ounces, the halibut could feed more than 260 people.
Carl added: 'To be honest Charlie was a bit overwhelmed. It was a bit frightening really. When the fish get on the line they pull all the line off the reel and you have to drive the boat towards them. You have to drive alongside them and hopefully it eventually slows it down.
'It was only a small boat, not like a big commercial boat, so it was just the four of us trying to lift it on. None of us could believe it, even though we've been coming for years we've never caught anything on that scale.'
