10 biggest catfish in the world

Catfish is the largest freshwater predator. The weight of this fish can reach 300 kg. (she can easily swallow a person, and even such cases have been recorded. By the way, you will learn about one of them from our article).

According to scientists, such giants are about 80 years old. It is very rare for any of the anglers to be lucky – they mostly catch catfish, which does not exceed 20 kg. in weight, and even that is a win for beginners! One can imagine what fishermen experience when they come across a specimen of impressive size …

According to the external characteristics, the catfish cannot be confused with any other fish: it has a large head with the same mouth, a long tail, the body has no scales, two large whiskers and small eyes.

The first representatives of the “ray-finned” class, which catfish belong to, appeared in the Devonian period, approximately 390 million years BC. Gradually they settled over large territories, new orders and families began to form.

Catfish prefer to live alone on the river bottom – they rarely appear on the surface, they are distinguished by slowness and lazy behavior. However, during the hunt, they know how to accelerate.

Fishermen love to catch catfish, because their meat is very tasty and healthy: it is believed that 200 g of catfish can satisfy the daily protein ration in the human body, 100 g of fat per 5.1 g, in a large volume the nutritional value consists of water – 76.7 g . per 100 g of the product, due to which the benefits of meat are high.

Every fisherman dreams of setting a record by catching the biggest fish. I must say, someone succeeds – for example, the anglers from our selection. Let’s find out where the largest catfish in the world were caught.

10 Catfish from the USA – 51 kg

Louisiana is an amazing region in the USA, rich in amazing nature and impressive culture. This is where he was caught catfish of impressive size – weighing 51 kg.

Surely, you think that he was caught by experienced fishermen, but no. This catch was caught by a teenager – Lawson Boyt in the Mississippi River. His discovery was a real sensation! Still would.

It is difficult to say exactly how long the fish was pulled ashore. By the way, the catfish was caught thanks to the bait from the herring, which he pecked at.

Interestinglythat in the same state, shortly before the incident, fisherman Keith Day caught a catfish weighing 49.9 kg.

9. Catfish from Belarus – 80 kg

The Pripyat River is said to be home to huge, toxic fish. However, fish of impressive size were not seen, except for one case.

In 2011, a fisherman living in Belarus caught an amazing fish in the Chernobyl zone – catfish 80 kg. When he and other fishermen were fishing with nets, after the subsequent casting, the nets stopped stretching. But it soon became clear why…

They spent an hour pulling out the nets, what was their surprise when they pulled out a huge catfish! The fishermen weighed and measured the fish, after which they could release it so that it continued to swim freely, but no! They made food out of the catfish.

8. Catfish from Spain – 88 kg

Look what an unusual albino catfish! It was pulled from the Ebro River, which flows in Spain. Briton Chris couldn’t cope with pulling the fish ashore alone, so he called his friends for help – this was in 2009. As a team, they pulled out a catfish, fortunately, unlike the fishermen from Belarus, they released the fish, but first they took pictures with it as a keepsake.

Interestinglythat in the Ebro in 2011 a catfish weighing 97 kg. caught by a woman with poor eyesight. It took half an hour to extract the catfish, but Sheila Penfold did not cope with the task herself, but called her husband and son for help. After the photo session and weighing, the family released the giant.

7. Catfish from Holland – 104 kg

This Dutch catfish lives in the park “Center parcs”. By the way, both tourists and residents of the city visit the park with great pleasure.

Catfish got a funny name “Big Mama”, which was given to him by the park workers. According to their observations, catfish weighing 104 kg. feeds on ducks from the reservoir, and in one day he eats about three birds. In addition, there were cases when catfish ate dogs … In conclusion, we say that this giant is protected by the state.

6. Catfish from Italy – 114 kg

In 2011 in Italy, Robert Godi was able to catch a huge fish – with a length of 2.5 m. its weight was 114 kg. The catfish was pulled out by six people for almost an hour. The fisherman could not even imagine that he would face a shocking catch! After all, he came to the pond to catch bream, and then … A pleasant surprise.

The guys did not even think about whether to release the fish or not – after the photos, they released it back into the pond. Interestingly, the Italians send the caught specimens back into the river, so repeated cases of catching the same fish are not ruled out.

5. Catfish from France – 120 kg

Yuri Grizendi has an interesting hobby – he is purposefully engaged in catching large fish. After he comes across large specimens of the underwater world, Yuri takes a camera / photographs them, and then releases them. But could he imagine that he would catch catfish weighing 120 kg?! It happened in 2015 in the Rhone River.

The man admitted that for 20 years of his hobby, this is the most valuable and unexpected catch. Yuriy and the team that helped him pull the catfish out of the water took unforgettable photos, and later released the fish home into the water.

4. Catfish from Kazakhstan – 130 kg

Fishermen of Kazakhstan caught an amazing fish in the Ili River in 2007 – it was catfish weighing 130 kg. According to them, they had never encountered such large specimens before … The fishermen were delighted with their catch.

Interesting fact: Kazakh catfish are large in size. This case was not the only one of its kind. In 2004, a German tourist caught a catfish in the Ili River, also weighing 130 kg. and 269 cm long. In 2007, another 274 cm catfish was caught by a resident of Berlin, Cornelia Becker. All these cases are certainly of interest.

3. Catfish from Poland – 200 kg

This huge fish weighing 200 kg. was pulled from the Oder River in Poland. According to studies, scientists have found that the catfish is at least 100 years old. Something else happened…

A human corpse was hiding in the belly of this giant, so the fishermen did not hesitate to call the police. The pathologist conducted an examination, during which it turned out that the catfish did not eat the person, but something else happened … The man choked, and the catfish later swallowed him. Therefore, the rumors that there are cannibals among the catfish were again refuted.

2. Catfish from Russia – 200 kg

A huge catfish was pulled out in the Kursk region, and more precisely, from the Seim River. Fishermen, being under water, saw a huge fish – it was in 2009, they were not at a loss and shot at it using a special underwater device.

The shot was successful, but draw out fish weighing 200 kg. on their own proved beyond their strength. Therefore, they turned to a local tractor driver for help … As a result, the fish that ended up on the shore shocked the local residents with their size, because they had not seen such hulks before.

1. Catfish from Thailand – 293 kg

Caught in Thailand catfish weighing 293 kg. was certainly included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest in the world. The capture took place in 2009 in a river called the Mekong. It was planned to give it to the service for environmental affairs under protection, but, unfortunately, this did not work out. The fish died…

Residents of Thailand claim that specimens of impressive size have come across in the Mekong before – why were these cases not recorded? We would love to know about them and tell you.