Will Sudders with his monster catch [REX]And when the young angler finally got the better of his catch, he needed help from his uncle Graham, 60, to drag it out of the lake and onto the bank.
The fish measured 7ft long and weighed 122lb. Experts say it is the biggest living fish in Britain.
The catch also shattered the record for the biggest freshwater fish caught by a junior angler in Britain.
Student Will, from Colchester, Essex, was coming to the end of a two-day fishing trip when he snared the catch using mackerel as bait.
He said: "I caught the catfish at 5am on the day I was leaving to go back home.
"After two days of only catching carp suddenly my rod alarm went off and my reel started screaming.
"I struck into the fish and immediately the rod bent forward and was almost ripped from my hands. I knew that I had hooked one of the big catfish in the lake.
"When the fish eventually came in close it roared off again and then battle recommenced.
"Eventually the fish tired and I was able to get into the water with my uncle Graham and we retrieved it together."
After weighing the fish and having the obligatory photograph taken with it, Will and his uncle returned it to the lake safe and well.
The schoolboy started fishing four years ago [JANE SUDDERS/BNPS]When the fish eventually came in close it roared off again and then battle recommenced
"I was so surprised to catch this fish as I have only been fishing since I was ten.
"Just four years ago I was fishing my local pond with my mum and a rod she got me from Argos for five pounds.
"I caught my first tiny carp using sweetcorn from a tin and now I have fished some of the best fish in the world.
"This catch has really made my year and we are only in the spring."
Will caught the catfish from the banks of the five-acre Oakwood Park Lake in Thetford, Norfolk.
Proud mum Jane said: "Every time Will puts his rod into the water he pulls out something special."
The biggest catfish ever caught in Britain was thought to be a 144lb creature caught by chef James Jones in Essex in 2012, but this fish has since died.
Catfish records were suspended by the British Records Fish Committee in 2000 because they are a non-native species.
At the time the record was 62lbs.
Mike Heylin, chairman of the BRFC, said he thought Will's catch was a new record.
He said: "We don't keep records on catfish catches any more, but at 122lbs Will's catfish catch is five or six pounds heavier than the next biggest catfish.
"It is highly likely it is the biggest fish in Britain - I don't know of any fish that is bigger.
"I'm also positive that no junior angler has ever caught a freshwater fish this big in Britain."
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