Ville, 12, Catches a 900-Gram Goldfish on Vacation

Ville Sandström, 12, from Sävar near Umeå, caught a 33-centimeter goldfish while on a camping trip in Örebro.

Ville Sandström, 12, from Sävar near Umeå, had tried fishing several times. Together with his fishing-enthusiast family, he stood on the pier at the campsite in Örebro for several evenings in a row – but without success, reports Folkbladet.

After a tip from some who had better fishing luck, Ville tried a new bait made of dough.

– It was flour, melted butter, breadcrumbs, and vanilla sugar, says Ville's father Peder Sandström to the newspaper.

Ville cast the hook again – now with the “cookie dough” on it. Finally, he felt a tug on the rod.

– At first, I thought it was some other kind of dead fish lying upside down in the water. That it was the underside I saw, says Ville about the memory of the glowing fish.

To his great delight, a catch of 34 centimeters and 900 grams was hooked.

Although goldfish can be eaten, Ville chose to only take a picture with the fish.

– No, I didn’t think much about it and the water was so disgusting, he tells Sveriges Radio.

Goldfish Can Be Found in Nature

Even though goldfish are usually found at home in aquariums and ponds, they can appear in nature, according to the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management. They often end up there because people release them, even though it is prohibited.

According to Bo Delling, a zoologist at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Ville's catch might actually be a similar fish.

– It could be a common carp, but suffering from leucism. They lack dark pigments. Then the light pigments come through, and the fish often become more or less goldfish, he tells Sveriges Radio.