A cast of the largest salmon ever caught by rod and line in British waters could make up to £6,000 ($7,907).

The lot is set to cross the block in a sporting sale at Bonhams on October 25.



The record salmon in all its glory

Celebrated angler Georgina Ballantine landed the 64 lb fish on the River Tay in Scotland in 1922, after two gruelling hours. 

In her own account in the Fishing Gazette she writes of how “we were mercifully kept in blissful ignorance of the monster we were fated to fight to the death.”

After an eternity of being led around the fishing grounds by the beast, her “left arm ached so much with the weight of the rod that I felt paralysed, but I was determined that whatever happened nothing would induce me to give in”.

She also writes of asking her father for a new dress if she succeeded.

“'Get ye the fish landed first and syne we'll see aboot the frock,' was the reply.”

It was dark by the Georgina landed the salmon and they managed to get it up on the bank. He never did get her that frock though.  

This cast was made at a local tackle shop. Ballantine then gifted the salmon to the local hospital, where it made an uncommonly pleasant meal for patients.  

News of Ballantine’s triumph prompted an explosion in the number of women taking up the sport.

Sadly just a few years later she developed severe arthritis, resulting in the amputation of her legs.

But her record still stands today - a towering achievement. 

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