Benjamin Grunder poses with a huge catfish, possibly the largest ever caught on rod and reel. Photo courtesy of © Benjamin Grunder of the Black Cat Fishing Team.

Fishing guide Benjamin Grunder spotted this huge fish on his fishfinder no less than 21 times in a span of a year while fishing the famous Po River in Italy.

“At first, I always thought it would be obstacles on the bottom, like sunken trees, that would produce such a signal,” Grunder told British magazine Anglers Mail, revealing the full story for the first time. “But at a certain point I realized it had to be a fish of monstrous proportions.”

Grunder, who had previously hooked and lost the fish in December, finally discovered what a monster it was when a customer managed to land the giant Wels catfish, despite a crazy battle that included the angler having to cut the line to avoid losing the fish. . in a problem.

The Wels catfish, the largest freshwater fish found in Europe, measured 8 feet 8 inches and, according to one measurement formula, weighed approximately 286 pounds. It could well be the largest fish ever caught on rod and reel, although records like these are difficult to confirm, especially when fish are released unweighed like this one.

Markus Brock, the angler who landed the fish, and guide Benjamin Grunder are dwarfed by the huge wels catfish. Photo courtesy of © Benjamin Grunder of the Black Cat Fishing Team

The previous unofficial record caught and released in February 2015 was indeed weighed; Italian fisherman Dino Ferrari put it on a sling and weighed it along the coast. His fish weighed 280 pounds and stretched 8.75 feet.

At the time, the largest wels catfish ever recorded was said to weigh 308 or 317 pounds, but the method of capture was uncertain.

One thing is certain about Grunder’s catch: it will go down in the record books for crazy catches.

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Grunder was guiding Markus Brock and Kai Weber when the fish struck. Grunder told The Sun he thought they had caught a submerged tree, but soon realized it was a monster fish.

Twenty-five minutes into the 45-minute battle, the catfish was swimming through a sunken tree in six feet of water, tangling the line, as the Anglers Mail reported.

Grunder used the anchor to hook the tree and lift it to the surface. He then wrapped the line leading to the fish around his arms while Weber cut the line and found the free end leading to the rod and reel. The lines, freed from the tangle, were knotted and the battle continued for a further 20 minutes before the fish was dragged to shore.

It was definitely an epic catch.

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