Giant conger eel caught off Llantwit Major

Glamorgan Star news 21/05/2022

2 minutes read

By MARCUS STEAD.

One of the largest conger eels ever seen in the Bristol Channel has been caught by an experienced Barry fisherman.

The huge eel was hooked off Stout Point, near Llantwit Major, by Dave Bobbett, the skipper of well-known local charter fishing boat Anchorman 5.

The weight of the eel is estimated to be around 60lbs, but while Dave was just about able to lift it onto his boat, it was just too heavy to register on the scales.

Dave has been the owner and skipper of Anchorman charters for 20 years, the first decade of which was spent running out of Barry, before switching to Penarth Marina a decade ago, from where he now works in the Bristol Channel: “This is, without doubt, the biggest eel I’ve ever seen in these waters.

“Eels are normally found around old wrecks where they tend to hide out waiting for prey to pass.

“There are normally quite a few eels in old wrecks, particularly in the summer months and they will eat just about anything.

“Our favourite bait on the boat is squid and mackerel because it’s a very good all-round bait,” he said.

The size a conger eel can reach is unknown. Eels in excess of 200lb have occasionally been caught in the nets of commercial trawlers, and a specimen weighing 350lb was reportedly caught by a trawler near the island of Vestmannaeyjar off the south coast of Iceland (although verifiable evidence of this is difficult to find).

Very large conger eels are occasionally caught in British waters. In May 2015, a 7ft long conger eel was caught in the nets of a trawler off the coast of Devon and weighed 133lb after being gutted.

Dave’s catch off Stout Point is fairly close to the UK shore record. In 1992, an eel weighing 68lb 8oz was caught at Devil’s Point, Plymouth by M Larkin.