What A Whopper! Fisherman Reels In Record Breaking 19 Stone Catfish

An artful angler has lined-up, hooked, and reeled in the sort of fish that even the most successful fisherman can only dream about – a 19-stone catfish.

Dino Ferrari definitely bagged the catch of the day when he became acquainted with a 2.67-meter long catfish from the depths of the Po Delta in Italy.

No doubt the watery wonder proved to be a true test of tenacity for Dino to land, but in a epic encounter between man and fish, it was the 19-stone catfish who came out the loser.

What’s more, the scaly sensation could be the biggest ever caught with a rod, reel, and a whole lot of elbow grease.

The Mirror reports that Dino hooked the catfish last week in the Po Delta, a river renowned for its giant catfish.

While the surly bruiser that Dino dragged to its death from the dark depths might set a new record for the biggest caught on a line, it is far from the heaviest ever landed. The biggest was 22 stone and 2.78 meters long, and was also from the Po Delta.

As a rule of thumb Wels catfish can grow as long as four meters and up to 62 stone. However, it is rare to catch one that is over two meters long.

Dino’s monster catch is not the sort of fish you’d want to accidentally swim into while skinny dipping. The fish has a ferocious appetite and will consume anything that happens to cross its path. These surly catfish have even been filmed eating pigeons after our feathery friends happened to fly too close to these cold-blooded killers.

Late last year, Chester schoolboy, Sam Lee, caught a 15-stone catfish while on holiday in Spain with his dad Peter. The youngster became embroiled in a bitter battle with the underwater beast after the carnivorous fish snatched the live bait at the end of his line.

The demonic fish bolted 100 meters downstream, as Sam hung on for dear life and eventually landed the watery brute after a 35-minute battle of endurance.

After posing for the traditional photo to secure bragging rights, Sam released the catfish back into into the water at the River Ebro in Catalonia, and just like King Creole, he was gone, gone, gone.

[Photos Via Facebook/The Mirror]