By . Daily Mail Reporter . 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. Catch of the day: An angler is celebrating after breaking the record for catching the world's biggest ever cod . 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 one that didn't get away: 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 . Strike a pose: The cod was so big two of his friends had to hold him back in fear he would have been dragged overboard by it . 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. He said: 'The fishing had been quiet all day. The just one hour before the turn of the tideI got a bite. Donated: Mr Eisele donated the record fish to the Norwegian Fisheries Museum in Bergen which will have it stuffed and mounted . 'I saw two red dots on the sonar-screen and it looked like a big one. 'So I concentrated from that moment on. It felt like ground contact. I took it very slowly and carefully. 'It took me more than half an hour to get the fish up. When we saw the fish my knees was starting shaking. It was so big. 'I needed the help from both boys staying in my boat to get it landed. 'It was an indescribable feeling. It was fish of a lifetime. 'I am a little proud to have the record.' Mr Eisele, the managing director of a fishing tackle manufacturers, donated the record fish to the Norwegian Fisheries Museum in Bergen which will have it stuffed and mounted. But he has submitted an application for his world record catch to the International Game Fishing Association. The record for the biggest cod caught in British water stands at 58lbs and was caught in the North Sea off Whitby in 1992.
Michael Eisele was on a fishing trip to Norway when he landed the whopper .
Existing record has been held for 44 years but has now been broken .
Spent 30 minutes trying to reel in the catch .
By . Daily Mail Reporter . 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. Catch of the day: An angler is celebrating after breaking the record for catching the world's biggest ever cod . 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 one that didn't get away: 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 . Strike a pose: The cod was so big two of his friends had to hold him back in fear he would have been dragged overboard by it . 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. He said: 'The fishing had been quiet all day. The just one hour before the turn of the tideI got a bite. Donated: Mr Eisele donated the record fish to the Norwegian Fisheries Museum in Bergen which will have it stuffed and mounted . 'I saw two red dots on the sonar-screen and it looked like a big one. 'So I concentrated from that moment on. It felt like ground contact. I took it very slowly and carefully. 'It took me more than half an hour to get the fish up. When we saw the fish my knees was starting shaking. It was so big. 'I needed the help from both boys staying in my boat to get it landed. 'It was an indescribable feeling. It was fish of a lifetime. 'I am a little proud to have the record.' Mr Eisele, the managing director of a fishing tackle manufacturers, donated the record fish to the Norwegian Fisheries Museum in Bergen which will have it stuffed and mounted. But he has submitted an application for his world record catch to the International Game Fishing Association. The record for the biggest cod caught in British water stands at 58lbs and was caught in the North Sea off Whitby in 1992.
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 minutes trying to reel in the catch and said his