A FISH ‘Midas’ Kilmacolm schoolboy reeled in a near-200lb monster of the deep — weighing more than TWICE his own body weight.

Seven-stone Daniel McAlindon, 14, battled with the huge skate for more than an hour in the waters of the Sound of Jura in Argyll.

His whopping catch comes after the Tele told in May how the youngster hooked a SHARK on his first ever fishing trip.

But Daniel, an S3 pupil at St Columba’s, reckons that was a mere 35lb ‘tiddler’ compared to his latest prize.

He said today: “The shark was nothing compared to that skate.

“It was huge and I was just thinking to myself that I couldn’t give up and let it go — I just had to keep going.

“The fish was extremely strong and tough. Just when I thought I had it, it would slip again and I thought, ‘Aw no!’ because I was back to square one again.

“But it was amazing just seeing that monster coming out of the water.

“I had to fight it with all my body weight just to hold it at times.

“It was an hour of my life I will NEVER forget.” Daniel and his dad Andy, 36, landed a total of four skate weighing 198lb, 196lb, 191lb and 157lb during a great day’s fishing last week.

Daniel’s fish was on the seabed, around 400ft down, when it took the bait and began a ferocious fight to break free.

Andy said: “Daniel landed two rays in the first half-hour, then after about an hour his reel started to squeal and we knew he had a serious fish.

“I’m so proud of him. He did it all by himself.” The pair left their home at 4.30am and joined their boat, the ‘On Your Marks Too’ skippered by Matthew Burrett, at Crinan around four hours later.

Andy said: “Daniel has the Midas touch when it comes to fishing.

“Matthew got him strapped into a harness and hooked him onto a rope as well to make sure he wouldn’t get pulled over the side.

“At one point we had skate on all four rods and the skipper had to lend a hand too.

“Matthew said afterwards that most adults he takes out with him don’t land fish that big.” The female skate was measured from nose to tail and across its impressive wingspan in order to ascertain its weight. It was then tagged and returned to the sea.

We told in May how young Daniel was just 13 when he battled for 20 minutes to haul in a 35lb tope shark at Luce Bay, near Stranraer.

Andy said his son was ‘shattered’ after hauling in the mighty skate, adding: “We had to come home a wee bit earlier than planned. He was completely done in.” But since recovering his energy, Daniel is now setting his sights on an even bigger prize.

He said: “I really would like to have a go at landing a great white shark, but I’ll have to talk my dad into a trip to Florida first!”