Carrickfergus angler who once reeled in Belfast Lough’s biggest cod retiring from competition fishing
A Carrickfergus angler who once reeled in the largest cod ever caught in Belfast Lough is retiring from competitive sea fishing.
Albert Lennox entered the record books on on August 18, 1972 after catching the 28lb fish off the coast of Whitehead during a routine fishing trip.
The cod, which was snapped on shore by the East Antrim Times then-photographer Archie Peoples, was later sold to Hilditch’s fishmongers for around £2.
"At the time my wages were about £16 a week so that was a lot,” said Albert (81), who has been fishing for over 55 years.
Since making the record-breaking catch, the retired businessman has gone on to fish in oceans, rivers and lakes worldwide in pursuit of similar large creatures.
“I’ve fished in Norway, Canada, the Maldives, Gran Canaria and closer to home in Donegal,” added Albert. “Rathmullan in Donegal is where I caught a 125lb skate in June 2010.”
Albert’s exotic catches include barracuda, stingray and wolffish, with more common species such as salmon and trout taking the bait after he began fly-fishing in 2009.
Some stand-out specimens in the last decade included a 120lb halibut in Norway in 2016 and, in the same year, a 93lb blue shark – captured off the coast of Baltimore, West Cork while fishing with friends Robert Craig and David Crothers.
In 2019, Albert caught a 12lb salmon at Lough Fern, and in September 2025, reeled in one of only two red mullet ever captured at Rathmullan.
A fishing trip in December 2025 saw a first for the local angler when he captured two species of wrasse on the same hook.
A tope weighing 45lbs 12 oz caught by Albert during the 2015 Rathmullan Tope Festival at Lough Swilly was just last year verified by the Irish Specimen Fish Committee as the heaviest of the species ever caught at the festival.
It was also second heaviest tope caught in all of Ireland.
And while Albert is laying down his rod and reel when it comes to club competition fishing, he won’t be giving up angling entirely, with a trip planned to this year’s Rathmullan Tope Festival.
Large species such as marlin, bluefin tuna, and even great white shark, meanwhile, continue to be on his ‘Bucket List’.