Teenage angler reels in record catch from Salford river

A 15-year-old boy has landed what is said to be the largest fish caught in a river in more than 160 years.

Kaden McCarthy, 15, reeled in the 25lb (11kg) carp from the River Irwell in Salford, Greater Manchester.

A local conservationist said it was the largest fish to be pulled out of the river since the 1850s.

Delighted Kaden, who has been fishing since he was six-years-old, said: "It's a good result but I know there's bigger ones in the river."

The catch has left Kaden the envy of fellow members at Salford Friendly Anglers' Society, which has been fishing the river since 1817.

"There's been a lot of people who were jealous and others who didn't realise there were fish in there that were that big," he said.

The society's newsletter said "we should stop describing Kaden as a 'young' angler and call him 'expert' instead. For us mere mortals the Irwell holds a good head of carp.......but finding them and then catching them is a different story."

"It's no surprise, he's been doing this since he was eight," said society member Mike Duddy, who works for conservation body the Mersey Basin Trust.

Mr Duddy said: "It is the biggest catch in the river since the 1850s."

Kaden, who has passed on the angling bug to his friends, said his largest catch was a 29lb (13kg) carp from a fishery in Oxford but added: "You can't beat the Irwell because the fish are very strong."

The River Irwell was once considered England's dirtiest river but conservation efforts have landed to the situation where a five star hotel in Salford offers fly fishing packages on the river.