A DURBAN North angler reeled in the catch of his life as he fished off Glenashley’s Beach on Saturday morning. Munoawar Gaffoor cast his hook out into the waters when he felt a strong tug on the line. Little did he know, the fish on the end of his line was a 39kg Daga Salmon.

Gaffoor who has been fishing for the past 15 years said this was the biggest catch in his life. He remembers his reel start screaming before an epic 45 minute battle to reel in the big fish.

“Initially I thought it was a skate. It was just so heavy and I fought hard to pull him in. It was only when I got closer to shore that I saw it was a fish.

“When I saw the size of the Daga Salmon, I was elated. It’s such a beautiful fish and I’m thrilled with the catch. It’s unusual to catch one of these fish from the shoreline, normally you have to venture further out to catch one of them,” he said.

When asked what he would do with the behemoth, Gaffoor said the catch would make a great fish biryani.  Last year, spearfisherman Grant Powell also caught a Daga Salmon weighing in at 44kg off uMhlanga’s shore.

Munoawar Gaffoor with the 39kg Daga Salmon.