The cod dad: Swedish father and son reel in giant 5-foot fish big enough to feed 35 fish off the coast of Norwegian island

A Swedish father and son had the fishing trip of a lifetime after managing to reel in a massive 5ft cod big enough to feed 35 people.

Soren Nilsson and his son Anders caught the giant cod on a fishing trip off Lofoten – an archipelago in Norway known for its beautiful views of the Northern Lights, small towns and fishing.

They managed to reel in the ‘high quality’ screaming cod after a short scramble using soft plastic baits and pirks as bait.

After successfully catching the cod, they returned it to a makeshift dining table for family and friends to devour, but not before posing with their catch of the day.

Both Soren and Anders were pictured cradling the 5-foot-long cod, which weighs about 40 pounds, with both arms.

For scale, when the giant cod was held upright, in one photo it came up to Anders’ chest

Soren Nilsson and his son Anders caught the giant cod during a fishing trip from the Lofoten Islands – famous for the northern lights – in Norway

Meanwhile, a photo showed Anders holding the cod upright and gave an idea of ​​how big the fish is. The tip of the cod was in line with Anders’ chest.

Norway’s strict fishing laws prohibit private fishermen from selling their catches.

However, if that cod had been caught by a commercial fisherman, they could have sold it to a high-end restaurant where 35 servings of cod could fetch more than £500.

Skrei cod is a type of Norwegian dish known for its lean meat and delicate, fresh flavor.

Some British seafood restaurants have removed cod from the menu entirely because it is so expensive to import.

Industry figures show UK cod sales for the 12 months to January were around 55,400 tonnes, for the first time behind Alaska pollock, which reached sales of 56,199 tonnes.

Erik Axner, who organized the fishing trip, said: “Most fishermen who come to Lofoten dream of a 20 kg Skrei cod.

“It takes good knowledge, skill and a bit of luck to find the right fish to bite out of the big schools of fish.

“The skrei is a migratory cod that lives far north in the Barents Sea, but migrates down the Norwegian coast to spawn in the spring.

Anders’ father, Soren Nilsson, presented him with another large cod the couple had caught on their trip

Norway’s strict fishing laws prevent private fishermen from selling their catch, but it could have been worth up to £500

Otherwise, the fish had to swing with both arms after he and his father caught it with rubber fish and pilrk as bait

“This cod was caught on the south side of Lofoten.

“This fish was kept for food and is a top fish for the dinner table.

“You get 7 kg of fillet from such a big fish, that will be 35 good portions.

“It is illegal to sell fish privately in Norway, but for a restaurant it would be a valuable catch.”

Cod usually weigh between 5 kg and 11 kg and are about 2.5 feet long.

The world record catch for a cod in 1895 off the coast of Massachusetts in the USA was 96 kg.