bobowski Posted November 15, 2013 Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 ‘Monster’ albino wels catfish may be largest ever caught. British angler Bernie Campbell just fulfilled a seven-year goal of catching a rare albino wels catfish, but little did he dream that when he finally hooked one and landed it, he would also land a world's record along with it! This whopper, caught in the River Ebro, near Barcelona, Spain, comes in at around 2.5 metres long, and tips the scales at over 93 kilograms. It isn't officially the world's largest just yet, but according to the UK Daily Mail, that's roughly 4.5 kg more than the albino catfish caught by fellow Briton Phil Hilton in 2012. "We have had two or three big albino catfish out of the river, but none that has topped 200 pounds," said John Deakin from CatMaster Tours, according to the UK Daily Mail. "Albino catfish of that size are very rare indeed. This is the biggest we've ever seen. It was a very special fish." Campbell, along with his son, Gary, prop up the incredible fish for display.[ More Geekquinox: 2013 on track to be one of the top 10 warmest years on record ] According to anglers, the albino wels catfish is very rare and especially sought after as trophy fish. Albinism is a rare genetic condition that affects all species of vertebrate (those with a backbone), resulting in a lack of melanin in their body, and thus they have no colouration in their skin, hair or fur, and eyes. Campbell told the Daily Mail that he'd been traveling to Spain for seven years to catch catfish, but although it had always been a goal to catch an albino one, they'd eluded him until now. It took him a 'shattering' 30 minutes of fighting to get the fish on shore, during which, he said, it nearly pulled him into the water four times. Once he'd reeled it in, though, and had his unbelievable experience, as well as both photographic evidence and an official weigh-in of the monster, he did the honourable thing and let the catfish go. "The record could stand for 10 minutes or it could stand for 10 years," he told the Daily Mail. "But for me it’s going to take a long time to beat this fish." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAW Posted November 15, 2013 Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 That's one ugly fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highdrifter Posted November 15, 2013 Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 They're getting biiiiiigggeeerrrrr... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChasinTails Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 im guessing thats dirt on the head, cuz if its albino its gotta be like the rest of the body right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pidge Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 Pretty friggin neat! Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 Awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickingfrog Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 Didn't River Monsters do a show in Spain? The theory went something like: the reservoir was heading towards the peak as far as producing hugmungus catfish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildeye rainbow Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 That's an "almost albino" catfish with the colouration on its head. Big fish! WR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardzy99 Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 And they killed it? Pathetic. At this day in age. Take pictures, get a fibreglass mount model and release the monster to reproduce more beautiful creatures like it. As for the consideration of whether it's true albino, I think most anglers go by % of body that is lacking pigment.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 And they killed it? Pathetic. At this day in age. Take pictures, get a fibreglass mount model and release the monster to reproduce more beautiful creatures like it. Maybe read the article first before going off... Once he'd reeled it in, though, and had his unbelievable experience, as well as both photographic evidence and an official weigh-in of the monster, he did the honourable thing and let the catfish go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 Making it forever "unofficial" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 Albino, or just sun bleached? It actually swam away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardzy99 Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 And they killed it? Pathetic. At this day in age. Take pictures, get a fibreglass mount model and release the monster to reproduce more beautiful creatures like it. As for the consideration of whether it's true albino, I think most anglers go by % of body that is lacking pigment.......... I completely missed that part of the read......my bad. Thanks for correcting me. Glad they let it go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeytier Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 Who the hell would want that hideous thing on their wall??? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallie Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 That fish is awesome. Also i would gladly put a replica of that on my wall Nice conversation piece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now