We filmed the moment we landed a huge 200kg grouper fish… it felt like we were reeling in a crocodile, say British backpackers
TWO British backpackers landed a giant goliath grouper during a dream trip to Australia, weighing a whopping 200kg.
Ed Hirst, 25, and Harry Thomas, 27, caught the monster fish in Port Douglas, Queensland after an epic 30 minute tug of war from the beach.
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The excited friends, who are traveling through Oz, reeled in the beast and had to use a strap placed around the fish's giant girth to drag it in.
Goliath grouper is a protected species in Queensland, so the fish was quickly released after being photographed the catch.
“It was so big I thought it was a saltwater crocodile,” Ed told The Sun.
“But then this big tail splashed out of the water and we realized it was a goliath grouper. We were very happy, what a spectacular catch.
“I've done some fishing at home but this was on another level, what a great experience.
“It was quite spectacular and quite a large crowd gathered to see us bring it in, they cheered and clapped.”
The duo were unable to weigh the fish, but after showing pictures to some people at the tackle shop, the catch was featured in the local newspaper in Cairns and was estimated at more than £600.
“Sick take that“Everyone's been talking about it, they called it George, which apparently they all call big fish.”
Ed, from Ware, Herts, has been in Australia for ten months with his girlfriend Izzy Suckling, 24.
He has worked as a gardener for an arborist and uses his free time to travel around the country.
Ed met friend Harry, from Devon, during his travels six months ago and the pair have been fishing almost every day since.
“We tried to catch a big fish but were aiming for giant trevally or smaller sharkswe never expected to land a grouper,” he said.
“He got stuck on Harry's leash and luckily he's a big boy who goes to the gym every day so he was able to reel him in.
“We couldn't pick it up because it was so heavy, but we went into the water with it to take some pictures.
“Grouper is a protected species, so we eventually had to let it go, but you can't let go of the memories.”
The heaviest goliath grouper ever caught was a 680-pound monster in 1961.
The seven-foot-long beast was caught by a fisherman who battled the fish for more than an hour off the coast of Fernandina Beach in Florida.
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