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| Jonathan's 245lb Catfish |
The biggest Wels catfish ever caught by a British angler has been taken by a Somerset angler whilst on holiday in Spain.
The huge catfish weighing 245lb (111kg) and 8ft 3in in length was landed by 31 year old Jonathan Avery, from Winscombe while on a fishing trip on the river Segre.
Jonathan got his big bite after waiting 15 hours at Mequineza. And was the only bite of his week session with CatMaster Tours fishing a stretch of the waterway at Mequinenza.
The current World Record for a wels catfish is 250lb 3oz (113.5kg). Jonathan Avery's previous largest catch was a 20lb catfish and 35lb 12oz carp in the UK.
Jonathan said: “It didn’t scream off like you’d expect a fish of its size to do, and the only indication I had was a couple of bleeps on the alarm. As soon as I lifted into it, though, it felt like nothing I’d experienced before. The only way I can describe it is as if someone had tied my line to a car and driven off. It made several runs to try to reach a set of snags towards the far bank but thankfully I just about managed to stop it before it got to them. When it was around 50yds from the bank it rolled on the surface and we could all see it was a huge fish. I’ve caught catfish to 19lb in the UK but when we got this on the bank I had no idea how big it was."
It took five men to haul it to the bank of the River Segre. They knew straight away it was a big one, but realised it was a record when the fish wouldn't fit in the 8ft sling, the sling was dwarfed by the fish, the cats tail hanging out the end and the sling barely stretching around the colossal belly of the beast.
CatMaster's tour guide Jason Ingley said: "I've seen big fish before but nothing like that — it was like something out of a cartoon."
Jon is now being treated to a free return trip to angling guides CatMaster Tours.
He said: "Even if I don't catch another fish all year, I've still done OK."
Jon managed to beat the huge predator with a 100kg braid hooklink and a size 8/0 hook attached to a 75kg mainline. Not only is this the biggest cat to be caught with the guiding company but the fish has been confirmed as the biggest wels catfish caught by a British angler!
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| www.catmastertours.com |
