Alessandro Biancardi, 43, from Ostiglia (Mantua), said he had waited “a lifetime to get a catch this big”, a 2.85 metre monster weighing roughly 150 kg.
“Now I’ve given another fisherman the chance to live my same emotions, and also my children, if they decide to follow in their father’s footsteps”, Biancardi told local media.
In a statement, Biancardi said he set out by himself on the Po river — which runs across northern Italy — in a small fishing boat and started probing the muddy waters with a rod and reel.
Within a few casts, he said, something big and powerful bit down on his hook.
“When it surfaced for the first time, I really realised that I hooked a monster, 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 had ever seen in 23 years.”
Biancardi’s catch is 4cm longer than the current wels catfish world record for length.
The record, according to the International Game Fish Association, is 281cm for a catfish caught by two German anglers in April this year, Outdoor Life reported.
According to Angling Times, it was also caught on the Po River.
Unfortunately Biancardi’s fish was not weighed, as he released it before it could be put on a scale.
“I was very curious about the weight, but I feared to stress too much that rare specimen so I decided to safely release it…,” he said in his statement.
