Posted on 11/13/2009 10:02:55 AM PST by Stoat
Nibble ... Sean and his massive catch
Sean Kinnear, 27, was amazed when he felt a fierce tug on his fishing line and pulled in the 9ft monster, which weighs a whopping 17 STONE.
He waged a 15-minute battle to land the beast, which hits the scales at an incredible 233lb 6oz more than a stone heavier than boxer Haye.
It is the third largest catfish ever caught in the world.
Sean, from Hitchin, Herts, caught the fish during a trip with his cousin to the Ebro River in north east Spain.
Sean said: "As the fish surfaced we were all in shock as it was so big.
"It was really hard trying to reel it in as it was so heavy and the rod was bending.
"It came close to breaking me, but I managed to pull it in, although it took four of us to get it on to the shore."
Sean, who has been a keen angler since he was 12, was on a fishing holiday with his cousin near the town of Mequinenza.
The big catch came after a 12 hour day of fishing.
Sean added: "We had been fishing all day and it was just starting to get dark so I thought I'd have one last try.
"The fish bit very hard and I managed to land it within 15 minutes."
The mighty fish was loaded on to a sling and weighed before it was returned to the river.
Sean, who has a photo of his big catch on his wall, revealed: "I was totally over the moon and it's a fishing holiday I'll never forget.
"I might have to change species now to have more of a challenge and move on to sturgeon which can go up to 1000lb."
Wells Catfish are the largest freshwater fish in Europe and eat anything they come across, including swans. The largest ever caught weighed 246lb.
He looks kinda like Mike Huckabee - Sean, that is. *chuckle*
I dunno. Looks to me to lack scales (some catfish apparently have scales). So my instinct is to go to Leviticus 11 or so
(Anything in the seas or in the streams that has no fins and scales . . they are an abomination for you . . you shall not eat of their flesh and you shall abominate their carcasses.)
(That is a paraprhase!)
After cleaning them up, that is. It's a bit of work ... guts, heads, skins, bones ... the cats get that.
< fishLies >
You can catch a dozen catfish bigger than that before breakfast just about anywhere in Texas.
Done it myself more than once, I tell ya’.
< /fishLies >
Indeed, it look prehistorically disgusting.
That isn't a bad general rule to follow. If a creature looks unappealing, avoid eating it.
fishermen lie?......
Catfish eat anything on the bottom.....
“I guess they’re abhominable to you”
Aside from looking at this thing and going “that’s a nasty trash-eating bottom feeder that’s probably sucked up heavy metals for 150 years,” you’re correct — the Mt. Sinai covenent is very limited to whom it applies.
______________________________________
Sheep lie. Fisherman embellish.
“Catfish eat anything on the bottom.....”
http://www.inquisitr.com/4944/angler-catches-corpse-eating-mutant-fish/
I hope to God that’s a catfish and not a guy’s poor taste in women.......
Those big river cats live practically forever ... for all I know, some of them are survivors of THE FLOOD. Once they're big enough that the herons can't get them, their only predator is homo sapiens. I'm reluctant to eat big fish out of the Shenandoah, Potomac, and James for the reason you cite: too much metal and PCB contamination. The smaller fish, especially from the uppermost parts of the watershed, are a different matter. Just have to make sure you're fishing above the old industrial areas.
My uncle used to scuba dive at Smith Mountain Lake in VA....It's a pretty large (20,000 acres) man-made lake. He said that, while diving one afternoon, he ran into a catfish that very easily could have swallowed him.
I wouldn't put it past Unc to embellish a tale or two, however, he stopped diving in the lake that day. You can make the call on whether or not to believe him.
Some days, you get the fish .... some days, the fish gets you.
Most of the mercury in fish comes from coal burning, it’s everywhere, regardless of industrial plants. There was just a series of articles out about how utterly contaminated the fresh waterways of America are after 100’s of years of coal burning ...
Makes sense, though.
Eventually, someone will catch the one that ate Jimmy Hoffa.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.