Two local anglers have made waves in the fishing community with a one-of-a-kind catch off the coast of Arbroath.
Leom Mitchell and Allan Saunders have become overnight celebrities in the angling community after reeling in a common skate while fishing near the Angus coastline.
The common skate, which is a type of fish similar in shape to a stingray, is the largest of its species in the world and can grow up to 2.85m.
They are usually found in the Atlantic or Mediterranean and are almost unheard of on the east coast of Scotland.
Allan said: “There’s certainly a lot of people saying that it’s the first time that one has ever been caught on the east coast, especially in Angus.
“My phone’s been buzzing with messages all day. I was actually buzzing too, I couldn’t sleep until about 4am last night.
“I’ve been fishing up here for about 20 years and this is certainly the first I’ve ever seen.
“In Arbroath at this time of year it’s mostly cod fishing, so to catch a skate, especially one of that size is incredible.
“The skate experts that I’ve spoken to have said that it’s probably at least 100lbs.
“I’m on a lot of fishing forums and since I posted the video they’ve all been going mad with so many comments and private messages.”
The skate was first hooked by Leom, with Allan quickly taking the rod and reeling it in.
Fisherman Allan added: “It was actually Leom that hooked it at first, and I pulled it in. It was sort of teamwork.
“I managed to get it to my feet, but the hook broke and it got away, its fine though because if we had caught it I would have just had to let it go.
“It was so strong, pulling it in was like pulling a mini up a hill, and even that might be an understatement.”
Allan believes that the catch is going to bring plenty of other anglers to Angus.
“A lot of people have been saying that they’re going to try and come up and catch one,” he said.
“It’s going to be rammed out there tonight, maybe even for a while.”
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