A fisherman has caught the attention of the internet after reeling in a massive catfish.
Italian angler, Allessandro Biancardi, said his huge 330-pound catch in the Po River, Italy, last month was the result of 23 years of labour.
“Everything started as a normal day of fishing,” Biancardi told The New York Post.
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“I went to the great river Po. Before leaving, I checked knots, hooks, each connection, because I’m extremely meticulous. "I always need to be 100% sure that everything is in place if a dream fish decide to bite my lure.”
Biancardi, who is also a member of the professional fishing team MADCAT, said that while on his boat, the water level started to drop on 25 May.
He then decided to fish with a spinning technic and cast into the water and after a few casts, he noticed a powerful bite from down below.
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The fisherman said the fish initially stood still for a few seconds before starting a fight between the obstacles beneath the water and the strong currents.
“I calmly managed to fight what I felt to be a prehistoric fish,” he explained.
The Italian fisherman followed the fish for 40 minutes before he was able to capture the ‘monster’ he hooked.
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“Adrenaline started pumping hard and the fear of losing it almost sent me into a panic,” he said. “I was alone facing the biggest catfish I ever seen in 23 years.”
Biancardi then decided to go in the shallow water to land the fish from shore after a few failed attempts at gloving fish’s mouth.
“I tied the fish to let him recover from the long fight then I suddenly realized that the boat was not anchored, and it was going away in the current,” he said. “I was forced to have a swim to recover it with all my stuff.”
“I was sure that the fish I caught was special, but I never imagined what would happen next when we measured the fish on the mat,” he shared.
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“Under the incredulous eyes of many anglers, the meter stopped at 285 cm (9 feet, 4 inches), it was the new world record catfish!”
Last year, a man from Colorado caught a massive trout in Colorado which measured 26.25 inches in length and 16 inches in girth, according to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife 9CPW).
Matt Smiley, a tackle salesman from Lake City, Colorado, reeled in trout measuring eight pounds and nine ounces from the Waterdog Lake in October.
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“The experience of this catch has been surreal and it took a few days to soak in,” Smiley told the CPW.
“It’s a really special fish.”
Gregory Robinson