Man on working holiday in Thailand lands record stingray

Keen anglers may want to book holidays to Thailand in order to catch a glimpse of what may be the largest freshwater fish ever to be caught on the end of a rod.

Keen anglers may want to book holidays to Thailand in order to catch a glimpse of what may be the largest freshwater fish ever to be caught on the end of a rod.

British angler and reporter for Angler’s Mail Ian Welch was part of a team catching and tagging stingray on the Maeklong River when he felt an almighty tug on his line.

After almost an hour, a 55 stone, seven foot wide stingray was pulled from the water.

“As soon as we saw it there was just silence because everyone was just in awe of this thing,” said Mr Welch.

Its sting alone measured ten feet and had to be wrapped in cloth while the biologists tagged the enormous specimen.

However, after this task was done, the ray was released to swim another day and Mr Welch said he swam alongside it and kissed it as it returned to freedom.

Thailand is renowned for being an excellent place to snorkel and dive and over 50 per cent of all coral reefs there are included in existing marine national parks, according to Dive the World.