Dinesh had gone fishing with his friends in a pond at Neelichira at Chittilancherry village in Alathur yesterday, police said.
He kept the fish he had just caught in his mouth and tried to capture another one which had got stuck under his legs.
The fish which he had kept in his mouth was more slippery than he had assumed and it slipped inside and got stuck in his throat.
Dinesh, who was working in a bakery in Mala in Thrissur district, had come to his home for vacation.