580-Pound Swordfish: 6-Hour Battle Lands 16-Year-Old Fisherman A Huge Swordfish In Australia

A 580-pound swordfish was caught by a fisherman in Australia after a six-hour battle. According to ABC News, Tasmanian fisherman Kyle Longmore caught the huge swordfish after an exhausting fight. The 16-year-old (yes, 16!) took part in the Coles Bay Classic fishing competition over the weekend, when he caught and successfully reeled in the massive fish.

“Kyle was very physically exhausted. We didn’t think the fish was all that big at first but then it came up and jumped, and we knew it was a fair size,” said skipper, Leo Miller, who helped Kyle get his catch on the boat.

According to KTIC, the 580-pound swordfish actually jumped out of the water over 20 times, each time getting closer and closer to the team’s boat. The team took to their Facebook page to post about the catch, and to congratulate Kyle on his incredible effort. Evidently, someone caught the whole thing on tape, and Team Choonachasa plans on releasing that soon.

“Big congrats to Kyle; an incredible effort for anyone let alone a 16 YO, extremely good fishing in a tough battle on a 10 to 1 Sword! We’ll start work on what will be an epic video!”

Team Choonachasa also posted a message for people who have a problem with people who fish for commercial purposes.

“And to all the nay Sayers a few points… The fish dictate these battles and aren’t in pain or tortured; in fact they don’t have the brain capacity to feel pain as we know it (and yes I am a qualified scientist), the fish will be eaten, it isn’t old, they get a lot bigger, they are not rare, they are sustainable, the commercial catch annually from this population (western pacific) is 10,000 tonnes a year…. I doubt amateurs in Tas taking maybe 1 tonne year will impact it much!”

Last month, another huge catch made headlines around the globe. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, a man in Italy caught a 280-pound catfish, one of the biggest ever, and perhaps the biggest ever caught using a generic fishing rod. Dino Ferrari’s pictures with his catch (a wels catfish) quickly went viral.

“The wels catfish is the second-largest freshwater fish in its region, ranking behind the beluga sturgeon. The largest beluga sturgeon on record is reportedly 3,463 pounds.”

The 580-pound swordfish is believed to be the biggest ever caught in Australian waters (by amateurs).

[Photo courtesy of Facebook]