A German angler caught an absolute monster of a catfish while fishing in Italy. The beast weighed nearly 300 pounds and was over 8 feet long.
Benjamin Grunder, 37 and hailing from Meiningen, Germany, thought he'd snagged a tree at the bottom of the river before he realized he had a giant fish at the end of his line. The word "giant" probably doesn't do it justice, either, as the this fish weighed almost 300 pounds.
Fishing the Po in Northern Italy, Grunder fought the behemoth for 45 minutes before finally landing it.
"Initially, I thought it was obstacles on the bottom, like sunken trees, that produced such a signal," Grunder said. "At a certain point, I realized it had to be a fish of monstrous proportions."
Fishing with Team Black Cat, Grunder's wels catfish measured 8 feet, 8 inches in length. Taking several measurements, Grunder estimated the giant to weigh 286 pounds.
That weight broke the existing Po record by 6 ounces, but unfortunately, the fish's weight remains unofficial, as it wasn't weighed on a scale.
Wels catfish are the largest freshwater fish in Europe, reaching potential lengths of 16 feet and weights upward of 660 pounds. They're the largest freshwater fish in the region and have reportedly been known to attack humans.
Grunder released the beast after taking its measurements and posing for photographs.
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NEXT: CATFISH TOURNAMENT SMASHES ALL-TIME WEIGHT RECORD
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