A massive salmon thought to be the biggest caught in the UK will not enter the record books because its weight cannot be verified, officials said.
The angling community hoped the fish would break the UK's rod catch record, set 85 years by the daughter of a Scottish ghillie.
Witnesses to the weekend catch said the huge salmon, caught in the River Ness near Inverness, was 56 inches long and 50 inches around the girth.
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The angling party which caught the male salmon released the fish back into the water after photographing and measuring it.
But they had no way of confirming its exact weight because the set of scales they had on the river bank could weigh up to only 30lb.
Ghillie Grant Sutherland, who witnessed the catch, told The Scotsman: "I have never come across a fish like that before.
"We couldn't weigh the salmon because we didn't have scales big enough.
"All I can say is that the measured length was 56 inches. It was the biggest fish I've ever seen - by a mile.
"The man who caught it was an experienced angler and his reaction was one of shock - it took about 45 minutes to land."
The anglers sent photos of the fish to marine experts in the hope that they may be able to estimate the weight of the fish.
But the British Fish Record Committee (BRFC), which holds the angling records for the UK, said that the fish does not meet all three criteria to enter the record books.
The catch met two of the criteria, which are that there must be witnesses to the landing, and that the fish must be identified.
But it failed on the third criterion, which is that the fish must be weighed.
David Rowe, secretary of the BRFC, said: "The fish must be weighed on scales that can be certified and on this condition it falls down because it was just measured.
"As far as the British Fish Record are concerned, it doesn't qualify for consideration.
"It's sad, but that's the way it is.
"It has to be weighed on certified scales. You cannot estimate the British record."
Despite the ruling, the catch has caused excitement on angling message boards on the internet.
One angler described it as the 'Loch Ness Monster'.
The fisherman said: "The man has just caught the Loch Ness Monster. What a fish eh troops - long live the monster great to see it returned."
The record is still held by Georgina Ballantyne, who made headlines when she caught a salmon weighing 64lb in 1922 in the River Tay in Perthshire.
Monster fish facts
• Bev Street, from Skegness, laid claim to the record for Britain's biggest freshwater fish when she hooked a 66lb (29.9kg) catfish in September this year
• The world's largest member of the salmon family is the taimen (hucho taimen) which are said to grow to 6.6ft (two metres) and 220lbs (99kg)
• Taimen are found in Mongolia and are subject to a conservation project
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