The Record Eel | Steve Ricketts | Drennan Specialist 

Thats probably the greatest angling achievement you could possibly achieve.Very well done

So proud of you grandad!

Very fitting that the eel record has fallen to a dedicated eel angler, good on ya Steve Ricketts 👏👏👏

what an incredible fish! So glad it fell to an eel angler rather than an accidental catch.

What a magnificent Eel - more to the point, what a genuine, honest guy...well done.

What a lovely modest man and someone who genuinely deserves this from the eel gods ❤

Fantastic achievement! The Eel record is probably the most difficult Coarse record to break. Congratulations Steve.

No question, no doubt , no argument, this is THE greatest achievement in specialist fishing in the UK . Well done Steve . I wish you would get your books reprinted 👍

Wow, congratulations Steve, a fantastic achievement, I’m sure the late great John Sidley is looking down and smiling 👍

Amazing story... I have to admit, as a kid, I hated the slimey beasties. Then, when you read about their life cycle, you gain a respect that they have managed to survive despite all the odds stacked against them and that they can grow to such a massive size...

A true specimen hunter. Fantastic achievement. Congratulations.

Unbelievable fish, caught by a true genuine angler, well deserved

Like catching a ghost, or a live Bigfoot, or proving that aliens do exist... That eel is on that level ... Like a 110 lb carp ,5lb roach...That fish could be 60 years old or more ... The girth on it ...blimey 12 inches...unreal.fish... Well done sir 👏 👍... I believe you when you say there's bigger ones out there too...

The greatest fish this country has ever seen, Epic!! Absolutely deserved, Well done Steve 🎉❤

Nobody deserved that fish more, what a catch. Saw the previous record in its case, it looked huge. Fortunately this one went back to its watery world unharmed. Well done Steve.

An incredible fish and so nice that it was caught by design by someone who has dedicated their angling life to eels. I’m a sea angler but I understand the magnitude of this achievement, huge respect to you

Well done uncle Steve we are all so proud of you, but you know can do better. 😊

Fantastic Steve. I’m so pleased for you. All the years of dedication paid off.

This is the best and most beautifull angling video I have ever watched. I could have listened to Steve all day. Thank you

an honour to watch that

Magnificent fish and at least as importantly a tale magnificently told. Brilliant!!!

Incredible achievement and so just it fell to a top angler and eel enthusiast by design and not by accident. Well done Steve; well deserved 👏👏

Amazing story of an amazing fish caught by an amazing genuine angler, good for you Steve you deserve your moment in Angling history 👍🎣

I fished for eels until they nearly vanished in the 80's and was certain that the decline in Eels was pretty much responsible for the Signal crayfish plague.Eels are the only creatures that are able to reach them in the banks. To know that they have recovered to this degree is so good to hear. Your an inspiration Steve ps all of the biggest Eels I've caught have had almost unnoticeable bites.

Brilliant 👏.. Well done Steve you going down in history

What a fantastic achievement for a very humble gentleman. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy

What a fish and thank you for a great story...

Some people believe reports of serpentine "lake monsters" are huge eels that have lost the instinct to breed, and stay in a water growing bigger. Whatever, it's almost certainly true that much larger eels exist than have been caught. Steve's dedication deserves a fish like this.

Great that’s it was caught by a angler with such a love for Eels.

I really enjoyed this Steve...fascinating. Yes, you have certainly put in the hours. You deserve every success 👍

Just love his attitude….a joy to watch

A brilliant story, congratulations!! Passion is so important, my Mrs would say the same….cheers

What a fantastic achievement! As a teenager I used to stay with family in Wales over summer holidays. Buy a licence to fish the little stream in the village. Only when it flooded could you find anything decent other than a few small trout and loads of little eels. Once summer, lots of rain on the mountains turned the littl stream into a muddy torrent. Lots of locals fishing the day I caught the record eel 🙂4lb of a monster! Luckily there were plenty of people to see it, including a bailiff who weighed and measured it for me. That same day I caught a nice 2.5lb trout. Not very popular with the locals but the trout sure tasted good. That was back in the 70´s, a recent visit down memory lane discover that the little stream is all neglected and overgrown with more rubbish than you would think humanly possible 😞Such a shame 😞

Aaah the eel gods are the most subtly capricious of all the fish gods. ..I've had some, foward swimming eels, suddenly shooting for significant distances ..over the last two years. Instead of the usual back wards pulling... Me- a tight line to a barbless hook...is my technique.. Love those dark solid eels most of all. Well done with this mighty capture

Probably the biggest achievement in course fishing, and to a genuinely nice guy who’s spent his life fishing for the most interesting of all our course fish. So glad it was caught by someone as nice as Steve and who was actively fishing for eels. Drennan cup winner💯

The passion.... 👌🏻

Fair play to you Steve...a very well deserved achievement....caught by design by a true specialist.

Wonderful! So happy for him, a proper fisherman

I doubt there's a more worthy British record holder in the land! Fantastic achievement!!! 👏

Watched this twice now, what a genuine bloke

Brilliant Steve...really enjoyed that 🎣 life long dedication 👏🏻👏🏻

Not a more deserving man to hold a record..10 lb plus eel the holy grail ♥️♥️

Awesome, couldn’t have happened to a nicer genuine guy.

Absolutely brilliant great fishing Steve ❤

What a fabulous achievement Steve, stuff of dreams.

What a top bloke and he definitely deserved that record!!!!

such a down to earth kind of guy and good to see Steve promoting tight lines and small hooks better for the fish at the end of the day welldone Steve great achievement 😊

Man he really likes eels

Amazing !! delighted for you and seeing you talk about it , your passion really comes across.

Steve - congratulations! - what a fish! I daren't think of how it fought - I caught my biggest eel (ironically!) in 1978 and it weighed 2lb 4oz - I thought I'd hooked a trampoline and someone was jumping up and down on it!! I've lost bigger (whilst match fishing), but that's the way it goes. Again, well done - awesome catch.

Sensational video. And what a guy, hell of a story teller. They're the moments that keep you going. Whether or not it happens is almost by the by. But being in the game, and we're always in the game, that's what counts. Well done that man

Congratulations, a very genuine down to earth man. That will not be beaten for a very long time. It's a lake eel....., there are some monsters still in the rivers, now that would be something to talk about!

One of the best angling videos I have ever watched. Thankyou !

What a brilliant video, and what a humble gent!!

Félicitations Steve de la France. C’est vraiment un poisson magnifique 120cm 🔝👍🏻👏47inch . Ça la concrétisation d’une vie et d’une passion pour toi ,le St graal , je suis content pour toi que St Pierre t’es récompensé pour tes efforts et t’as passion. Bravo Il y a quelques années j’ai fait une de 106 cm et une de 102 cm mais maintenant la pêche a été interdite en France pour les protéger. Halieutiquement Phil 😉👊🏻

Firstly Congratulations on such a fantastic achievement "CHAMP" 🏆 You're dedication and commitment has rewarded you with the ultimate prize 👍 and Secondly your excellent video has given me a truly different outlook of EEL Fishing" I've always tried avoiding them because of the difficulty of keeping them calm so I can unhook them, But now after watching your video I feel lot more confident in being able to handle them, I have caught EELS up to a couple of pound whilst Barbel Fishing so once I've gained enough information I think I'll give EELS Fishing a go 👍

Simply amazing achievement. It was an Eel that started me fishing, Well done Steve Ricketts. Great video by the way

Well done Steve Ricketts amazing capture. I have both your books, absolute Legend 👍

Great film and a fantastic achievement!!!!!! A true angler doing it his way - actually a good friend of mine netted the previous record all those years ago down in Hampshire and I remember him telling me all about it but it's so good that the record has gone to a proper eel angler!! I wonder if you were fishing Wraysbury 1 around 2000? I remember a lone dedicated eel angler on there around that time.

A long time coming from 1978 but wow,absolutely brilliant, what a fish Well done 👌🥂

Just sensational mate. Great vid as well, incredibly humble. You've just caught the record for the species you angle for, and one of the hardest, if not the hardest, species to specifically target! That'll live with you forever, we'll done Steve, hugely deserved achievement 👏

What an achievement!!! Huge congratulations fish of a lifetime!!! Well done that man👍👍

Give the man the Drennan cup now.😅

wouw great story, one of the best fish stories i have seen for a while! Very well done! Respect for the eel, a respect full angler!

as a kid growing up in a world before www., fishing books were most important and ill never forget one i had with a picture of terrys eel in it, too see a bigger fish caught and landed on film is truely beyond words, to you sir i doff my cap youve achieved something words cannot capture

Eel is not my thing and never will be but what a great video and what a dedicated angler ,well done mate ,you deserve it

Fantastic! Ive been meaning to watch this film since it came out. Steve has earned that fish, and deserves every bit of recognition for doing so! I have to say, hes also adoped the classic Drennan/ESP story telling format to a tee 😉💪🏻 Thanks for sharimg this film 🎣💥💥

Absolutely amazing , well an achievement of a lifetime done 👍👍👍

Lot of nice eels down that part of the country. Was walking behind the windsurfing lake and saw a couple of massive eels in the river just swimming along. Lots of water to go at and not a lot of people fishing it! Fantastic achievement, well done

Best angling achievement I’ve ever seen on RU-vid without doubt.

The Eel has got to be the most elusive fish that you can catch especially the bigger ones I’ve picked up a few up 4lb whilst fishing for Zander on the canal systems I’ve always been fascinated by them since I was kid when fishing with my uncle who hooked a monster on feeder fished worm What a fantastic video a fantastic watch thank you 🎣👍🏼

Real angling well done pleasure to watch

Congratulations fantastic 👍🏻

I caught a 3lb eel years ago ….. was an eye opening experience…that I did enjoy

Well done Steve, great dedication towards that species.

Well done Steve, that eel is older than all of us!

Unbelievable fish, well done.

Stunning achievement sir..thats probably the most enjoyable video I've watched on you tube💯..good to see the record fall to a genuine eel angler..well deserved 👍👍👍

Truly amazing love my eel fishing a massive congratulations and what a fish and there’s no other angler that deserved it more. I’m sill sat with my mouth open just wow incredible 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Brilliant film and a fantastic achievement 👏🏼

12 inch girth. That's incredible!

Love the Passion…… very well done fella.

What a brilliant video by such a modest man who loves his sport

If you want monster eel's you should try Bristol city docs. You might have to poach the best spots near the town centre because fishing is restricted to a small area now, before this happened way back in the 1980s there was no restrictions and I caught several 3lb plus .I was dropping bits of bread down the dock side near a cafe and eels where making there way up the wall to out compete each other when an absolute beast that I took for a conger came up and engulfed the next bread ball ! This water is very big and very deep.i am sure there is a lot of woppers in there.

hello steve followed your eel angling tracks in the past interesting story well pleased for you mate its finally happened a dedicated eel angler caught it ex beac member

“Is that a big eel, then?” 😂😂😂

Lovely film and what a great achievement - well deserved! 😀🎣

Brilliant watch. Fantastic achievement. Well done 👏🏼

An absolutely enthralling video......Amazing dedication...as for the fish, bloody hell !!! What a humble fella.....Nice one dude !!!

Nice guy

What an amazing, amazing feat Steve. I'm blown away. Massive well done. Apologies on behalf of all Carp Anglers for that comment.. I guess if you're blind to it, then you're REALLY blind. What a truly fantastic creature. Brilliant to see it go back so strongly. Happy to be "the one" who said there's a bigger one in there if it cuts you slack with your wife!!😂

Amazing story. Amazing fish. Well deserved 👏🎣❤️😊

Massive achievement congratulations. Very jealous with the solace eel angling has.

Very informative and interesting video. Well done sir in your achievements and long May they continue for you.🎣

A massive well done, what an achievement. Great to see effort paying off.

Deserved…. Respect 👏👏👏👏👏

Thats insane, I dont think this will ever be beaten. Well done sir

Great vid 👌 used to catch them all the time as kid from my local river, havnt caught one for years

A tribute to true dedication indeed. Have you any idea how old that fish would be? I met Sidley years ago. He set out to conserve them, so he told me, following an experience whereby a 7lb+ eel which he'd caught, killed, and subsequently had set up, was aged (by the opercular bone apparently) at Aston University and they estimated it at over 80......yes 80! years old. He never ever killed another after that.

What an achievement well done 👏