It wasn't just a case of catch of the day for Garry Toy but, potentially at least, the catch of the past three decades.

For Toy, who works for the Bank of Bermuda, is believed to have landed the Island's largest Sailfish caught on a 20lb test line.

The record fish, caught on Saturday morning off the south-west coast, weighed in at over 50lbs unofficially beating the previous record by more than seven pounds.

"Literally, no sooner had I got the boat up to the required trolling speed but I had struck into a fish. I was, of course, very excited to see a billfish jump clear of the water about 120 yards off the back of the boat," said Toy. "I thought at first that it was a small Marlin, maybe a White, but as I got it closer I could see that it was, in fact, an Atlantic Sailfish."

Toy said after he had got over the initial shock, he realised he would have to play this one very carefully or risk losing his catch.

"I did fret a little as I noticed that it had taken the lure I had set on 20lb line and I knew I would not really be able to play it too hard," he said. "My mate and I chased the fish here and there for about 40 minutes or so whereafter it came to the surface."

What happened then was one of the most fantastic sights Toy says he has ever seen.

"(The fish) then stood up on the water and quite literally ran away for some 100 yards. It was a spectacular sight and one that will stay with me for a long time," he said. "It must have been during this time that it managed to 'tail wrap' itself as, after it had then taken a deep dive, it seemed to run out of steam.

"When I finally managed to get it to the surface I could see that it had expired as a result, I presume, of it being incapacitated by the line.

"I was disappointed at this turn of events as it was my intention to release the fish, understanding that they are very rarely caught in Bermuda's waters.

"As it happens, the total time taken to land the fish was over one hour but I do believe that if it had not 'tail wrapped' itself, I would still be out there today!"

Toy said he took the Sailfish to Robinson's Marina where his boat is moored to have it weighed.

"The fish was weighed by Captain Alan J. Card aboard his charter boat Challenger and the fish tipped the scales at 50lbs," he said. "The measurements taken showed the fish to be 28 inches in girth and 99 inches in overall length from the tip of the bill to the tip of the tail.

"A telephone call to Leslie Spanswick at FlyBridge Tackle allowed me to establish that the existing Bermuda record for such a Sailfish, caught and landed on 20lb test line, has stood at 43lbs 3oz since October, 1969!"

Toy said he was very proud of his achievement and was in the process of registering his catch as a new Bermuda record.