184lb European record catfish
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A misty morning on the River Weser in Germany saw Sebastian Rozwadowski and Christoph Grefe set out in a rubber dinghy, hoping to land some carp. Little did they know that less than 3 hours later their prize would be an 83.6 kilogram (184lb) giant catfish, at 2.17 meters (over 7ft) long it was actually longer than their boat!
“Christoph and I fought the fish for 2 hours” said Sebastian. “It pulled us and our boat around the river for 500 meters! After an hour I was at the end of my strength. I had hooked the fish but the pains in the nape of my neck and my back really finished me off. After a while the fish appeared to weaken also, and thrashed around in the shallows by the bank.”
“When it finally broke surface, we were astonished. It was longer than the boat! I jumped out and bent into the water as far as I could and tried to grab the fish. But that didn't work at all. Only at the 5th attempt was I able to embrace it. Meanwhile, Christoph had jumped out of the boat, put his rod aside and together we landed the fish.”
It took four men to weigh the monster moggy
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“We had a weighscale with us, but naturally not for such a huge weight. After a few phone calls we found someone with a 100kg scale and he brought it along to the river. Somehow we put together some rope from my car and a wooden pole we found on the river bank. With two men at each end of the pole we were able to hoist it onto the scale. People crowding around read it off: 83.6 kilogram! Crazy!”
It was suspected at once that this was a German record, but when the statistics were consulted, it was found that the giant catfish from the Weser was the heaviest fish ever caught by rod and line in Northern Europe since records began!
Like all responsible anglers, Sebastian and Christoph released the giant back into the water after it had been weighed.
Sebastian was using “normal carp fishing tackle”, a Daiwa SS 3000 reel with a 0.45 Mono on a 2.5 pound 'Slayer' Black label Baits prototype carp rod. The lure was a relatively small 18 gram diving lure, the 'Black Magic', a spinner hand made in by ManGo Fishing of Chiangmai. More info here: www.mangofishing.com.
Story: 'Good Morning Chiangmai NEWS'
John McLaren
