Quiet! Do not scare away - in our cozy backwater, the hunt is on for river monsters that have received the title of the largest catfish. The Guinness Book of Records is barely keeping up with the record. Meet Big Mommy and all-all-all.

Catching giants is not an easy task, there are two options for the development of events: either you manage to pull a miracle Yudo onto land, or you yourself go to feed the fish (remember the saga "The Old Man and the Sea"). By the way, the average catfish weighs 50 kg, the catch can decorate the family's diet for two to three weeks.

Although fishing has long ceased to be the main source of food, for most men it is a favorite hobby, entertainment, passion. And if a catfish comes across, then stories about grandiose prey will last a lifetime. Surely every year the stories will acquire new details, and the fish will gain weight.

We will not poison the tales, but face the facts. So, we present the top 5 impressing freshwater imaginations.

1. More than 400 kg weighed catfish caught in the Oder River in Germany. This is what eyewitnesses said. The case was almost 200 years ago, more precisely in 1830, it is no longer possible to verify. A similar story happened in Uzbekistan, it seems that a 430-kilogram giant was recently caught there. But the record was not verified, there are no documents either. Alas, as they say, without a piece of paper you are a bug.
2. In second place is an inhabitant of Lake Issyk Kul, who worked up 347 kg until he was caught. The length of the fish exceeded 4 m, and a short man could fit in the open mouth. This record of the 19th century is evidenced by the original monument by the lake in the form of huge catfish jaws. The monument, as it were, hints: there is fish here. Well, or was, I give a tooth.
3. The third largest handsome was caught in Thailand. The Mekong River has long been distinguished by “such a fish”, but the reservoir began to pollute, and the fish became smaller. Therefore, the fisherman had no limit to joy: the river dweller weighed 292 kg. This is the largest catfish, the Guinness Book of Records has successfully recorded it in its annals. No one has been able to repeat the official result since 2005.
4. The largest living catfish is Big Mom. The fish became a captive and now lodges in the national park of Holland. Mother is protected, because poachers strive so hard to get her into their nets.
5. Leeches and frogs, small fish are the standard food of catfish. But a predator from Turkey swallowed a man. The body of a woman was discovered during the autopsy of the monster in 1970.

Giants are also found in domestic river spaces. For example, a catfish weighing 100 kg was shot near Dnepropetrovsk. Let not the biggest catfish - a Guinness record - but also a nice load.

It is gratifying that the big fish of the world lives in almost all countries of the world. Ichthyologists associate the tendency to crush records with the deterioration of the environment.

Catfish is one of the biggest predators among fish. More than it in freshwater reservoirs, only representatives of sturgeons are found, catching of which is currently prohibited. What are the dimensions and weight of the largest catfish in the world, and what trophies do happy anglers take with them?

The largest catfish according to Guinness

In the spring of 2011, the Guinness Book of Records recorded the case of the capture of the largest specimen. The length of the fish turned out to be 250 centimeters, and the weight was 114 kilos. You can see this freshwater giant in the photo. Such a wonderful catch went to the Italian Robert Godi, who fought the fish for almost an hour. And he did it not alone, but with the help of several adult men. This largest catfish in the world was also the largest freshwater predator in Europe, the catch of which was recorded.

The previous record holder - one of the largest catfish - was caught shortly before the capture of the previous trophy. The weight of the fish shown in the photo was 111 kg, which is only 3 kilos less than the real world record. This giant fish was caught in Spain on the Ebro River. But unlike the trophy caught in the spring, which was decided to be released into the wild, this trophy was not lucky.

The largest catfish were caught about a century ago. Predatory fish living in the Eurasian reservoirs can reach a length of up to 5 meters, and in weight - up to 300 kilograms or more. In Uzbekistan, about 100 years ago, a catfish weighing 430 kilograms was caught. And in the first half of the 19th century, a fish weighing 400 kilograms was caught. The length of these giants was just 5 meters, but there are no facts confirming these cases of catching.

Other records

Representatives of catfish can reach very large sizes. Young individuals are often caught, the weight of which is comparable to the weight of a trophy pike. But more and more anglers are trying to just take a photo and make a video with their trophy, and then release the fish back. If the largest specimen weighed 114 kilograms, then other trophies weigh slightly less:

• In 1998, in France, an individual of 110 kilograms was caught on the Rena River. At the same time, its length was a little more than 2.5 meters. You can see the photo below;
• On the same river in 2009, fishing ended with a monster of 120 kilograms being pulled out of the water. This is more than the current record, but the fact of capture was not registered. Therefore, it cannot be argued that this miracle fish really weighed so much. According to some sources, the length of the fish was 255 centimeters;
• In the same place in 2005, fishing ended with the capture of a specimen weighing 106 kilograms. The length of the trophy is 241 centimeters. Catfish were caught on live bait. In the photo you can see the happy faces of the anglers;
• In 2008, a representative of catfish was caught in Germany at 96 kg and 238 centimeters. This is the largest predator that was caught in the waters of the German country;
• A year earlier, a Russian fisherman caught a giant weighing 95 kg and 236 centimeters long in Germany;
• In 2004, fishing ended with the capture of a giant of 83 kilos and 217 centimeters;
• On the Ili River in Kazakhstan (2007), a woman caught a fish measuring 274 centimeters;
• A German tourist in Kazakhstan caught a giant weighing 130 kilos and measuring 2.69 meters (2004);
• On the river called Ili, a real giant was caught at 96 kilos and 2.72 meters;
• A large freshwater predator was caught on the Syrdarya River. Its mass was equal to 110 kilos, the size - 2.44 meters.

There are many cases of catching truly gigantic individuals, the mass of which is one and a half times the weight of the fish from the Guinness World Record. However, each of these cases was not registered. And it is not possible to determine the mass and length of a fish from photographs or videos. In Russia, the largest catfish is found only in deep rivers, and the mass of such fish rarely exceeds 50 kilograms. Below is a video about the capture of a large catfish in Russia.

Russian records

In Russia, for many years there have been no cases of catching representatives of the ichthyofauna of gigantic sizes. All record specimens were caught in the 18th and 19th centuries. There is information about them in printed sources. So, the largest trophy from the catfish family was caught 2 centuries ago. He weighed 347 kilos, his size was equal to 4.5 meters. Since then, it has not been heard that predators of this size have been caught yet.

Currently, anglers from all over the country are hunting for giants. But they are constantly haunted by failure. The most frequent trophies are fish from 30-40 kilos. But in the European part of the country, cases of catching quite large individuals are known - about 70-80 kg. It is very difficult to pull such giants out of the water. One angler is unlikely to cope with a fish. You will need at least a pair of strong male hands.

The fact that there are few large representatives of the ichthyofauna in Russia is influenced by several factors:

• Poor environmental conditions;
• Active activity of poachers;
• Unfavorable climate: reservoirs freeze strongly in winter;
• Decline in the population of fish that catfish feed on.

All this greatly affects the fish size. Most often, the largest specimens are found in places forgotten by man. This suggests that human activity is the main factor influencing the growth and reproduction of fish.

1 place

The largest catfish of which anything is known was caught in the Oder River, which flows through Germany. It happened a long time ago - in 1830. Witnesses claimed that the weight of the fish was more than four centners. True, this impressive record was not officially documented, but history still retained information about it. On the same line, you can put a 430-kilogram catfish caught in Uzbekistan.

2nd place

In the 19th century, a giant of 347 kilograms was caught in Lake Issyk-Kul. Its length was more than four meters, and in the open jaws an adult man could stand, almost without bending over. This record was also not recorded, but a monument in the form of a huge fish jaw, erected not far from the place where such an impressive catch happened, remained in memory of it.

3rd place

Closes the top three Thai catfish, caught in 2005 on the Mekong River. This reservoir has always been famous for its large inhabitants, but recently the fishermen have had little reason to rejoice. Due to unfavorable ecology, catfish have almost disappeared. And then such luck weighing almost three centners! More precisely, the weight of the fish was 292 kilograms. This result was included in the Guinness book and is considered an official record, which so far no one has been able to surpass.

4th place

A huge catfish 2.3 meters long lives on the territory of the National Recreation Park in Holland. This is the largest fish in Europe and the largest of those that survived after being captured. Soma is affectionately known as Big Mommy. The poachers sleep and see how to catch the national treasure in their nets, but the guards are not asleep and so far have successfully repelled all attempts to assassinate Mommy.

5th place

This line rightfully belongs to the Turkish som. There is no information about its exact dimensions, but it is known for certain that during the autopsy, the corpse of an unknown woman was found in it. It happened in 1970. A few years later, in the same places, two little girls were attacked by a catfish. In general, this fish often attacks unlucky bathers, but most people, fortunately, manage to fight back and survive.

6th place

Catfish of monstrous size was caught from the river Seim. The fish weighed more than two centners. To kill the giant, the fishermen had to use a harpoon, which is actually designed to hunt large marine predators. However, such a catfish may well be compared in strength and danger with the real shark itself.

7th place

Signor Antonio Frisero was very lucky here. His catch pulled one and a half centners of live weight! The man tried to pull the prey ashore for almost an hour. When he succeeded, Antonio did not kill the giant, but only took a picture with him as a keepsake and released him into his native element.

8th place

This record also belongs to the Italians. They are lucky for catfish! Before the Frisero catch, it was Robert Gody who was considered the man who managed to catch the largest catfish in the whole country. The length of the prey was about two and a half meters, and the weight was 114 kilograms.

9th place

A catfish weighing 100 kilograms was shot and pulled ashore in Dnepropetrovsk. Against the background of the rest of the results, it does not look so impressive, but rest assured that the lucky fishermen were in seventh heaven. Surely they will remember this catch for the rest of their lives!

10th place

Closes the top of the largest catfish caught by man, a copy of 97 kilograms. But it is not so much the weight of the fish that is interesting, but the fact that the record belongs to a woman. Fortune smiled on the brave fisherwoman on the Ebro River (Spain). I wonder if she pulled out the catfish herself or someone helped her?

The largest catfish (Catfish, Sheatfish) is the dream of any experienced angler. Predatory fish of record size are usually documented by big game hunters who are always trying to record their incredible catch. Usually a person who managed to catch a giant trophy is perceived by other fishermen only as great.

The largest catfish (Catfish, Sheatfish) is the dream of any experienced angler

Catfish is one of the giant centenarians that can surprise you with its size and age. Determining its maximum possible size is very difficult, because in addition to documented capture reports, there are many more unconfirmed. In historical archives, there are a lot of references to the capture of giant Sheatfish from the 19th century, which are more like fairy tales, but may well be true. Listed below are the documented giant catfish of various varieties.

The largest channel catfish caught was 1 m 30 cm long and weighed 26 kg. There are relatively few unconfirmed reports of the capture of this species, so this fish probably does not reach large sizes. The blue Sheatfish is considered to be the larger one. The largest representative of this species in the world had a length of 1 m 70 cm and a weight of 45 kg. There is also information about unprecedented specimens that were caught in the 19th century. According to such reports, the weight of the largest blue catfish reached 68 kg. It is difficult to say how true this information is, but it can be assumed that the length of 1 m 70 cm is not the limit for this type of fish. The length of the largest flat-headed catfish was 1 m 55 cm, and it weighed 56 kg.

To date, there are no confirmed data on the capture of larger specimens, and it can be concluded that the above figures correspond to the maximum sizes.

Common, or river, catfish is much larger than other varieties. It is this Catfish that has been living in Russia for centuries. It is considered the largest in the world. Nowadays, the largest fish caught usually weighs no more than 90 kg. There is confirmed information that the largest catch in the world is a specimen of 300 kg in weight and 5 m in length. According to unconfirmed records of the 19th century, the largest catfish in Russia reached 6 m in length, and its maximum weight was 350 kg. At the same time, no evidence was found that the record catfish can reach 400 kg.

Shilbovy Catfish is another giant species that reaches 3 m in length. The largest representative of this species weighed 350 kg, which makes it the absolute champion in terms of weight, although it is inferior to ordinary catfish in size.

Despite the fact that Sheatfish is considered one of the largest bony fish, some species barely reach a maximum length of 12 cm. However, they become sexually mature, having a length of 1 cm.

Gallery: big catfish (25 photos)

The largest catfish in the world (video)

Myths and legends associated with catfish

It is very difficult to raise a giant individual in captivity. The main problem is that catfish gain weight slowly, and it can take many years to reach record sizes. In addition, wild varieties usually do not do well in captivity, much like aquarium fish do not do well in the wild.

The huge difference between official data and historical chronicles greatly complicates the task of determining the maximum possible size of catfish. But we can assume that the length of 5 m is not the limit for such a fish. A catfish can pull 300 kg only if its age is several decades. It is the largest fish living in fresh water. For comparison, the largest carp in the world, according to L.P. Sabaneev, weighs only 70 kg. This fish is very strong, but much smaller than Catfish. The largest silver carp was caught in 2015 on the Dnieper River. His weight was 50 kg. As can be seen from these examples, the largest fish caught of other freshwater species cannot compete with Sheatfish.

Predatory fish of record size are usually documented by big game hunters who are always trying to record their incredible catch.

This fish can really pose a danger to human health, but the problem is not at all that weighing 300 kilograms of catfish preys on people. Some species of this fish may have sharp spikes on their fins. These spikes are not poisonous, but they must be handled with extreme care.

Descriptions of cases when a huge river monster attacked a waterfowl are not true, since the catfish actively hunts at night, and in the daytime behaves more calmly and prefers not to leave deep holes. These attacks are more likely associated with the activity of a large pike (after all, it is not for nothing that the people called it the "duckling").

The legend about huge mutant Catfish weighing three hundred kilograms and living in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant deserves special mention. There really lives a giant catfish that no one is trying to catch, but its size has nothing to do with radiation exposure. This can be explained by the fact that the Pripyat River has become a kind of fish reserve, free from the invasion of fishermen and poachers.

Catching catfish from a boat (video)

Catfish is a freshwater large fish without scales from the catfish order, representing the catfish family.

The species has a distribution in lakes and rivers throughout Europe, except for Norway, Italy, England, Scotland and Spain. There are representatives of this species in the south of Finland and Sweden. The area of ​​distribution of catfish in the south is limited by the coastal waters of the Black and Aegean Seas, in Asia - by the Aral Sea. Catfish that live in rivers that flow into the Black, Baltic, Caspian Seas often swim in their salty waters. In the upper reaches of the rivers, fish is rare, the highest concentration of catfish occurs in large reservoirs and in the mouths of the rivers.

The appearance of catfish

Catfish are owners of a long, scaleless body, rounded in front and laterally compressed in the back. On a flat and wide head are small eyes, which are located closer to the forehead. The mouth of the fish is armed with a large number of small teeth. A characteristic feature of catfish is long whiskers located on opposite sides of the upper jaw. Mustaches are also on the lower jaw, 2 on each side. The fish has a long anal fin, no adipose fin, and the dorsal fin is located closer to the head, small and sharp. The pectoral fins are wide and strong. In order to confuse its prey, the catfish creates turbulences in the water with its pectoral fins. The skin of the fish is smooth and slippery.

The color of the fish is not uniform. The back is very dark in color. Slightly lighter than the sides, they are greenish-brown with lighter areas. The belly has a light gray tint. The color of the fish depends on the habitat. In stagnant waters, the body color of the catfish is saturated dark. In running water, the skin of the fish acquires a lighter color.

Catfish is a fairly large fish.

Catfish sizes

Catfish are very large. The length can reach 4 meters, the weight reaches 180 kg, there are specimens much larger.

However, individuals with a maximum weight are extremely rare in nature. For example, in the 19th century, giant catfish came across, which reached a length of 3 meters and weighed 200-220 kg. There is a story that in the Dnieper, in 1856, they caught a fish of this species, which weighed about 400 kg and its length was 5 m.

In our time, usually, catfish are caught in a length of 1.3-1.6 m. Great luck and the greatest rarity if you manage to catch a fish more than 2 meters long and weighing 70 kg. Most often come across specimens of 1.5 meters in length with a weight of 15-20 kg.

In order for the catfish to grow to a decent size, very good conditions are necessary for its life. Even under ideal conditions, the weight of the fish may not exceed 90 kg, and the length - 2.5 meters. The maximum weight of representatives of the species currently recorded reaches 144 kg with a length of 2.78 meters.

Catfish behavior and nutrition

Catfish do not migrate far from their usual habitat. Feeding and spawning areas are located nearby. Fish prefer to lead a solitary lifestyle, gathering in large flocks in cold weather. They hide in deep holes and stop feeding until spring.

Catfish is a large underwater predator leading a benthic lifestyle. The fish feels comfortable in quiet areas of the reservoir, at the bottom of which there are caves, pits and snags.

Catfish hunt from ambush. Hiding in a secluded place, the fish makes a throw and catches a gaping prey. In shallow water, where the movement of young fish is observed, you can see a large flock of hunting catfish. They stand against the current, open their mouths and swallow whole flocks of small fish.

During the day, catfish prefer to rest in caves and pits, they go hunting at dusk and at night. Sensitive skin and mustache help to detect the victim.

Contrary to the popular belief that catfish are only scavengers, it can be said that bottom fish species serve as food for them. It can be carp, goby, perch, different types of herring and sturgeon breeds. At an early stage of life, catfish eat crustaceans, frogs, fry, aquatic insects and attack waterfowl and rodents. Catfish also does not disdain carrion.

Reproduction and lifespan

The ability to reproduce occurs after the catfish reaches a size of 50-60 cm and a weight of 2-3 kg. The fish has such parameters in the fifth year of life. Depending on the region of habitat, spawning occurs in spring and summer. The required water temperature for this is 17-20 degrees. Under favorable conditions, females of this species throw 2 portions of caviar. For one kilogram of weight, the female can sweep up to 30 thousand eggs. In general, the larger and heavier the female, the more caviar will be. The sizes of eggs vary from 1.7 to 3 mm.

Before spawning, the female catfish builds a nest at the bottom of a river or lake. Usually, this is a shallow, rounded hole covered with aquatic plants. Such a nest is always located in shallow water, at a distance of 50-70 cm from the surface of the water. Sticky caviar is securely glued to the walls of the nest and to the bottom. The development of eggs occurs from 3 to 10 days, and throughout this time the nest is guarded by the male.

Larvae are first formed from eggs. Then, the yolk sac dissolves and fry appear. Their length is 15 mm. They disperse from the nest and lead an independent life.

Young catfish grows rapidly, especially in the rivers of the southern regions. During the first year of its life, the fry grows up to 30-40 cm and gains weight of 300-500 grams. At the age of 10 years, the fish can weigh 15-20 kg and grow up to 1.25 m. However, a very high percentage of death of young individuals is observed. Up to a year old, only 5% of the young of this species of fish can survive. The life expectancy of catfish is 30-35 years.

Only young individuals of catfish serve as food for people. As a rule, their weight does not exceed 15 kg. Large representatives of this species are very heavy and fatty, so it is not recommended to eat them. You can not eat catfish caviar, as it is poisonous.

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