Som is the largest freshwater predator. The weight of this fish can reach 300 kg. (it 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 fishermen to be lucky - they mainly catch catfish, which does not exceed 20 kg. in weight, and even this is a victory for beginners! One can imagine what the fishermen experience, who come across an instance 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, a body without scales, two large whiskers and small eyes.
The first representatives of the class "ray-feathers", to which the catfish belong, appeared in the Devonian period, approximately 390 million years BC. Gradually they settled over large territories, and new detachments and families began to form.
Soms prefer to live in solitude on the river bottom - they rarely appear on the surface, they are distinguished by slowness and lazy behavior. However, during the hunt they can accelerate.
Fishermen like to catch catfish, because their meat is very tasty and healthy: it is believed that 200 grams of catfish can satisfy the daily diet of protein in the human body, 5.1 grams of fat per 100 grams, a large amount of food value consists of water - 76.7 g per 100 g of product, due to which the benefits of meat are high.
Every fisherman wants to set a record by catching the biggest fish. I must say, someone succeeds - for example, the fishermen 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. It was here that 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 find became a real sensation! Still would.
It is difficult to say exactly how long the fish was pulled ashore. By the way, catfish was caught thanks to the bait from herring, which pecked.
Interestingthat in the same state shortly before the incident, fisherman Kit Day caught a catfish weighing 49.9 kg.
9. Catfish from Belarus - 80 kg
In the Pripyat River, as locals say, huge toxic fish are found. 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 caught fish using nets, then after the subsequent casting, the nets stopped stretching. But it soon became clear what was the reason ...
They spent an hour pulling out the nets, what a surprise they were when they pulled out a huge catfish! The fishermen weighed and measured the fish, after which they could let it go so that it could continue free swimming, but no! They prepared food from catfish.
8. Catfish from Spain - 88 kg
Look, what an unusual albino catfish! He was pulled from the Ebro River, which flows in Spain. Briton Chris could not cope with pulling the fish ashore alone, so he called his friends for help - this was in 2009. They pulled the catfish as a team, fortunately, unlike the fishermen from Belarus, they released the fish, but first they took pictures with it as a keepsake.
Interestingthat in the Ebro in 2011, the catfish weighing 97 kg. Caught by a visually impaired woman. It took half an hour to extract the catfish, but Sheila Penfold did not cope with the task herself, but called for help from her husband and son. After a photo session and weighing, the family released the giant.
7. Catfish from Holland - 104 kg
This Dutch catfish lives in the Center parcs park. By the way, both tourists and residents of the city visit the park with great pleasure.
Som got a funny name "Big mommy”, Which he was given by the park workers. According to their observations, catfish weighing 104 kg. It feeds on ducks from a reservoir, and in one day it 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 Godie was able to catch huge fish - with a length of 2.5 m. its weight was 114 kg. For almost an hour, six people pulled out the catfish. The fisherman could not even imagine that he would encounter a shocking catch! After all, he came to a pond to catch bream, and then ... A pleasant surprise.
The guys didn’t even think about letting the fish go or not - after the photos they let it go back to the pond. It is interesting that the Italians send the caught specimens back to the river, so repeated cases of the capture of the same fish are not excluded.
5. Catfish from France - 120 kg
Yuri Grisendi has an interesting hobby - he purposefully engaged in the capture of large fish. After he comes across large specimens of the underwater world, Yuri takes them to the camera / photographs, and then lets go. 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 passion, this is the most valuable and unexpected catch. Yuri and the team that helped him pull the catfish out of the water took unforgettable photos, and subsequently 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, before they did not have to deal with such large specimens ... Anglers were delighted with their catch.
Interesting fact: Kazakhstani catfish are large in size. This case was not one of a kind. In 2004, a German tourist caught a catfish in the Ili River also weighing 130 kg. and 269 cm in length. In 2007, another catfish, 274 cm long, was caught by a resident of Berlin - Cornelia Becker. All these cases are certainly of interest.
3. Catfish from Poland - 200 kg
This huge 200 kg fish. was pulled from the Oder River in Poland. According to studies, scientists have found that som is at least 100 years old. Something else happened ...
The corpse of a man was hiding in the belly of this giant, so the fishermen without hesitation called 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 swallowed it later. Therefore, rumors that there are cannibals among catfishes were again refuted.
2. Catfish from Russia - 200 kg
Catfish of enormous size was extended 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 taken aback and shot at it using a special underwater device.
Shot succeeded but to stretch fish weighing 200 kg. independently it turned out to be beyond their power. Therefore, they turned to a local tractor driver for help ... As a result, the fish that appeared on the shore shocked the locals with their size, because before they had not seen such whoppers.
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. They planned to give it to the Environmental Protection Service under protection, but, unfortunately, this did not work out. The fish died ...
Residents of Thailand claim that in the Mekong there were specimens of impressive size before - why weren’t these cases recorded? We would love to know about them and tell you.