BIG fish have become a way of life for veteran angler Henry Marshall who is a three-time winner of the Marlin Open on the island of St Martin in the Caribbean.
And the 83-year-old Boltonian, who lives in Bury, is still landing hefty catches.
His latest was a 40lbs salmon he caught on River Kittimat in British Columbia, Canada – not the biggest catch in the world and not the biggest catch he would have landed that day, had a 70-pounder not got away, snapping his 50lb line.
Nevertheless it was up there with the big trophy catches Henry has netted over the past 70 years since first taking up angling on mill lodges as a 12-year-old.
“I caught it on what is known as a ‘jigger ‘,” he said. “It only took 10 minutes to land it, but the other one would probably have taken longer. It took 210 yards of line in 20 seconds.
“I was fishing off the bank. Maybe if I’d been on a boat I’d have got it.”
Henry, who was brought up near Haslam Park in Deane and now lives on Manchester Road, Bury, near Gigg Lane, has travelled the world sea and salmon fishing in some of the most bountiful spots including South Africa and Ghana.
“I started fishing on Merton Mill Lodge off Deane Road when I was 12 and I’ve been fishing ever since,” he said.
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