By Isle of Wight Observer
On 3rd October, 1891, the IW Observer reported a mysterious encounter in the Solent, after two Ryde fishermen claimed to have seen a huge unidentified fish measuring more than 30ft in length.
A LARGE FISH IN THE SOLENT. – Our townsmen, Messrs Smith and Bevis, fishermen, report that on Friday last, when between Ryde and Lee-on-the-Solent in an 18ft boat, they saw the largest fish they had ever noticed in these waters. They reckon it to be over 30ft in length, and it jumped clean out of the water three times. It was so close that they felt rather alarmed for their safety. Its back was quite black, and its underside and face a beautiful glistening white. When it fell back into the water it sent the spray flying all around it.
The fishermen are well acquainted with whales, porpoises and grampuses, but they assert they never saw a fish of such a shape before. This is not a “big gooseberry,” but a fact, as any one can verify by interviewing the persons mentioned.