Local fisherman comes across 'monster' octopus

Thursday 29 April 2021

A local fisherman has made waves, after encountering a large octopus whilst out foraging for lobster.

Jay Le Gallic, better known to his YouTube fans as ‘Smash Fishing’, was searching for lobster around Lihou when something caught his eye.

“I looked down a lobster hole and saw a tentacle,” he said. “I was really surprised, it was the first time I’d come across one.”

Pictured: “Some people take them home to eat, but I thought it best to let it go,” said Jay.

Jay caught the moment on camera whilst filming for his YouTube channel, which has around 100,000 subscribers.

“It was massive, I think it was about 7 to 8 Ibs,” he said of the octopus. 

Curled octopus have been making a comeback in Guernsey waters after disappearing for roughly half a century.

“Older fishermen say that we used to have loads of octopus about 50 years ago,” said Jay, “but there was a massive low tide once, coupled with a big freeze in temperature and all the octopus disappeared.”

You can watch the moment he caught it HERE.