‘Another’ huge catfish for the team but anyone who thinks that, after so many giant specimens, such catches are a matter of routine would be very much mistaken as each and every one of the monster fish requires both angler and guides to give their all. The landmark cat was caught by team angling colleague Sven Weide of the Quantum Sea Team on a deadbait but even an angler with Weide’s experience of big fish (his catches include a halibut of over 150kg) had his hands full with this one, he commented:
“Just after we started the fight from the dinghy, the fish planted itself under a sunken tree and it wouldn’t move. Heavy mist added to the difficulty of attempting to land the fish but finally, with the help of Stefan and a second boat, Benjamin and I worked the fish free but it was tricky because we had to cut the tangled line and tie it together again.”
In fact, the anglers had to free the giant catfish from obstacles three times before it was finally landed and when it came to weighing and measuring the monster the tape recorded a length of 2.52m and the digital scales recorded 105kg (232lb).
The events unfolded on the middle reaches of the Po in northern Italy, the base the Wels Camp run by Bernhard and Ute Heiner. The river was just slightly higher than normal at the time of the catch, which is somewhat unusual in the guides’ experience. Extreme high waters of up to five metres above normal level and persistent rain are normally the order of the day at that time of year.
Anybody wanting to write the next chapter in the story of giant cats over 100kg can learn more about Black Cat Guiding Tours with Stefan Seuß and Benjamin Gründer via Black Cat Guiding and Fish4Life Guiding
