Italian Fishermen Catches Monstrous 280-pound Catfish …Mamma Mia!

Italian fishermen Dino Ferrari and his twin brother Dario might have scored a world record in their hands after catching a Wels catfish in Italy’s Po Delta. Their massive catch of the day measured an incredible 8.7 feet and weighed about 280 pounds. The current world record today of the heaviest wels cat fish ever caught is over 300 pounds, but the Ferrarri brothers may have set another world record for the largest catfish to be caught with a rod and reel, according to the Daily Mirror.

The Wels catfish, also known as the sheatfish, lives in brackish waters and mainly feeds on other fish as well as worms and crustaceans. It is native to some parts of eastern Europe and in Asia.

According to a report by CNN, the Italian fishermen hooked the impressive specimen on the 19th of February this year. They reportedly spent 40 minutes reeling the catfish in. It is believed to be the largest ever of its kind to be caught. The nearly nine foot Wels catfish which was big enough to swallow a human adult has officially been dubbed “the monster of Po”.

After enjoying their catch and taking photographs, the Ferrari brothers released the catfish back into the river. “Who knows, maybe we will manage to catch it again in a year’s time, and it will be even more gigantic,” Dino Ferrari said in an interview with The Telegraph.

Check out the awesome catfish in the photos below: