Mr Britten, 86, captured what he believed to be a black conger eel in the Bo Peep Creek, which feeds into Lake Burrumbeet.

He said a quick decision to cast a line into the creek almost proved disastrous, as the giant eel wreaked havoc once caught on the hook.

''It nearly pulled me in upside down,'' he said.

''I've been in the bush all my life. I've caught a lot of eels before, but never seen one as big as that.''

A senior fisheries officer in Ballarat, Stephen Eddy, said he wasn't surprised by Mr Britten's catch.

''It has occurred before and even through the drought there have been eels in Bo Peep Creek,'' Mr Eddy said.

Eels have traditionally been stocked at Lake Burrumbeet, although usually of the short-finned variety. The drought has not enabled eels to retreat back to the ocean, causing them to grow to substantial sizes in creeks such as Bo Peep.

Ben Osborne, of Western Victoria Eel Growers, said the eel, which was more likely to be short-finned than a conger eel, could have been 30 years old.

''It's definitely not the run of the mill size.''