9-foot-long monster catfish caught in Italy
Alessandro Biancardi and the 9-foot-long, 330-pound catfish he caught on May 25. (Alessandro Biancardi)
An angler from Italy caught a massive 9-foot-long, 330-pound catfish, possibly breaking a world record.
Alessandro Biancardi from the MADCAT ITALY team, caught the gigantic catfish while on a solo excursion in the Po River, Italy’s longest river.
MADCAT is an organization dedicated to recording impressive catches made by catfish anglers all over Europe and creates and sells fishing equipment, according to the website.
May 25 started off normal for Biancardi. He double checked his gear and made his way down the Po River and decided that since the water levels were low and muddy due to recent floods, he would utilize the spin fishing technique.
(Alessandro Biancardi)
Spin fishing is the most widely used method of fishing which involves using a fishing pole and casting a lure repeatedly until a fish is caught.
Biancardi attempted a few casts before he felt a "powerful bite."
"Fighting the fish took a whopping 45 minutes," Biancardi told FOX TV Stations in an email.
After almost an hour, Biancardi finally managed to see the massive fish for the first time.
"When I saw the torpedo fish emerge, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was shocked when I saw it," he continued.
(Alessandro Biancardi)
In his 23 years of fishing, Biancardi had never seen a catfish of this size, according to a news release from MADCAT.
He managed to get the fish to shallower waters in order to measure it and took photos in the presence of 10 witnesses.
Biancardi released the catfish back into the river and hoped "it could give another angler the same joy he gave to me.
Documentation about the fish was sent to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) to confirm that it was indeed a record catch.
The IGFA is a non-profit organization that maintains records for all species of game fish.
The IGFA said the current All-Tackle Record for catfish is 297 pounds and 9 ounces and have yet to confirm Biancardi’s catch as the new world record, but this could change, according to an emailed statement to FTS.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.