And the trio were even forced to switch to a handheld line to reel in the monster after the effort of pulling it in from 0.5 kilometre deep caused their electrical fishing rod to explode.
Heavy dealer mechanic Reece, from Perth, said: 'It's probably a once in a lifetime catch, and reeling it in was a big three-man job.

'We dropped the line in and it sat on the bottom for 30 seconds, and then all of a sudden the rod was dancing. We thought 'holy s**t, there's something big on that rod.