Italian angler Alessandro Biancardi may have set a new world record after catching a massive catfish from a flooded river. Biancardi, a professional fisherman with the MADCAT fishing team, embarked on a solo fishing trip on the Po River in northern Italy. After a few casts, he felt a powerful bite on his hook and engaged in a 40-minute struggle with the fish.
When the catfish finally surfaced, Biancardi realized he had hooked a monster. The wels catfish measured over 9 feet long, surpassing the current world record for length by 4cm. The record is currently held by two German anglers who caught a catfish measuring 281cm on the Po River.
Biancardi’s catch’s weight remains unknown as he released it back into the water to minimize stress on the fish. However, an official measurement was taken with ten witnesses present and the documentation has been submitted to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) for certification. While it qualifies to beat the IGFA’s new catch-and-release length record, it falls short of the 2010 record for weight, which was nearly 298 pounds.
