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.
“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.”
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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.
“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).
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Matt Smiley, a tackle salesman from Lake City, Colorado, reeled in trout measuring eight pounds and nine ounces from the Waterdog Lake in October.
“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.”