Germany’s salmon record has been beaten with this 53.57lb giant taken off the Island of Rügen off the Pomeranian coast.

The 123cm long fish to a trolled Rhino Mag Spoon fished by Wolfsburg angler Dieter Schmidt, who donated it to the local community. The mayor has decided to have it displayed in a local restaurant for visiting anglers to admire.“A promising trolling day began with light wind and clouds,” said Dieter. “Around midday we had already been successful, yet we decided to keep at it for one more hour. “After 15 minutes we got a strike on one of the downrigger rods.
The first run was not particularly spectacular and we estimated it to be a medium sized salmon. Then it stopped moving. “Then the salmon started to fight in all directions and depths. When we saw the tail and dorsal fin for the first time close to the surface we knew this was not just another big fish. “All rods and the downrigger were taken in and the engine put in neutral.
After approximately 45 minutes of intense fight we realized that with a fish of this length we would only have one chance to net it, however my friend Stephan managed perfectly. What a feeling to finally have this fine specimen in the boat!” 

Picture: The record German salmon weighing 24.3kg or 53.57lb – caught by Dieter Schmidt of Wolfsburg in May 2013 in Schaprode.
Picture: Tobias Voigt