http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...vier-last.html

A German angler has managed to break the world record by landing the biggest cod ever caught.

The mighty cod weighed in at 103lbs - smashing the existing record, that has been held for 44 years, by nearly 5lbs.

Michael Eisele, from Kiel, Germany, was on a fishing trip to Norway when he snared the whopper.

The 44-year-old and his party had just been about to head back to port after an unsuccessful day's fishing when he got a bite.

Mr Eisele spent 30 minutes trying to reel in the catch and said his knees started trembling when he saw it as it breached the water.

The cod was so big two of his friends had to hold him back in fear he would have been dragged overboard by it.

They helped him heave it on board and Mr Eisele was barely able to hold it by himself for the obligatory photograph on board the fishing boat.

The 5ft long cod tipped the scales at 47 kilograms.

The existing record stood at 98lbs 12ozs for a cod caught off New Hampshire in 1969.

Mr Eisele's cod is not only a world record but also the very first to hit the 100lbs mark.

Mr Eisele said he caught the fish in 90ft of water 10 miles off the Norwegian island of Soroya.