Schoolboy angler, 14, catches mega 195lb skate fish - 'breaking nationwide record' for biggest caught by a child

A schoolboy angler has caught one of the biggest fish ever by a child - a supersized skate that was twice his size.Henry Ralph, who has just turned 14, hooked the enormous flat fish on his first cast of a fishing session from the shore.At first the youngster thought he had caught a mass of seaweed because it was a dead weight, but then the fish took off and almost pulled him into the water.Incredibly, Henry spent two gruelling hours reeling the skate in to the beach near Oban in Argyll & Bute, Scotland.It was far too big to weigh, but using a tried and tested formula, Henry and his fishing guide Michael Hannah calculated it to be 195lbs (13 stones). It measured 81 inches long and 69 inches wide.It appears to be one of the biggest fish ever caught by a child in Britain, although there is no official nationwide junior record covering all fish species. After posing for photos with the colossal catch, Henry and Michael returned the skate to the sea safe and well.Henry said: 'I thought I had caught seaweed at first, but I realised it was a fish when it took off. BNPS Schoolboy angler Henry Ralph has caught one of the biggest fish ever by a juvenile Henry spent two hours reeling the skate in to the beach near Oban in Argyll & Bute, Scotland'It was really hard to reel in and was like the fight of a lifetime. It took about two hours but I am quite determined and I wasn't going to let it go. 'When I saw it flailing around about 20 yards from the shore, that's when I realised how big it was. I was just shocked at the size of it.'I did feel tired afterwards and had to sit down but after a while I was ready to catch another one.'Henry, who comes from Lossiemouth in Moray, has been fishing since the age of eight.He was with Michael, of Moray Skate Guide, when he caught the monster fish.Michael said: 'I was gobsmacked that he managed to catch it by himself. He is only a wee boy but didn't need my help.'He didn't want to give it up, it was phenomenal to watch. I know grown men who would have handed the rod over.'It was the fish of a lifetime for Henry and he is only 14!' In 2023, Joshua Davenport caught a 152lb catfish while he was on holiday in Spain (pictured with his record-breaking catch above) In 2023, a British boy caught a 152lb catfish during a holiday in Spain, smashing the European record for the biggest freshwater fish netted by a child.Joshua Davenport, who was 11 at the time, was fishing with his parents when the giant catfish went for his bait.Although his rod was bent double, the youngster fought for 25 minutes to reel the colossal catch in.It took three adults to lift it into a weighing sling, and it tipped the scales at a whopping 152lbs. The 9ft-long specimen dwarfed Joshua, who at the time stood at 5ft 5ins. In 2022, a Kent student called Callum Pettit, who was 11 at the time, caught a seven-stone fish; a common carp in a lake near Reims, France, establishing a new record for catching the largest one by a junior angler. He had been fishing with his father since he was a toddler. His previous largest catch was a 29-pound mirror carp. It took him 23 minutes to catch the fish, and once it got on the scales, he, along with his father Stuart, realised they were creating a record. This massive catch weighed 96 pounds 10 ounces and was only a few pounds lighter than Callum himself.