AN angler got the new year off to a flying start with the catch of a lifetime while holidaying in Kenya.

David Shipstone, 52, of Coniston Drive, Darwen, caught two 11-ft long sailfish in Malindi during a sea fishing holiday with his wife, Carol.

The fish were caught on New Year's Eve, and David says he hasn't caught anything so big for years.

"I had been fishing for sailfish or marlin," said David. "It was quite an experience, a once in a lifetime thing for me. I go sea fishing once every year and in 1996 year my wife and I went to Thailand.

" After weighing the catch, I gave one of the fish away and sampled the other. It had a very strong, smoked flavour, and was quite palatable."

David has been chairman of three fishing clubs in Darwen for 15 years - the British Queen Angling Club, the Mill Gap Hotel, and the Shipwright Sea Angling Club.

He and his wife Carol run Carol's Butty Box in Blackburn Road.

Previous news story

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.