{"id":38350,"date":"2023-03-20T04:40:02","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T04:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hoptraveler.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/20\/giant-wels-catfish-tows-angler-down-river-ebro\/"},"modified":"2023-03-20T04:40:03","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T04:40:03","slug":"giant-wels-catfish-tows-angler-down-river-ebro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoptraveler.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/20\/giant-wels-catfish-tows-angler-down-river-ebro\/","title":{"rendered":"Giant Wels Catfish Tows Angler Down River Ebro"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Anglers know Spain\u2019s River Ebro because the \u201ccatfish capital of Europe\u201d due to its large wels catfish. English fisherman Ditch Ballard offered one other story for that legendary river when he hooked an enormous catfish on a freezing February evening.<\/p>\n

Ballard was focusing on carp whereas fishing from his small boat when he hooked the heavy fish. It deeply bent his 10-foot rod and scorched line off his reel. The skilled angler, who operates Ebro Mad Cats<\/a> fishing service, knew he\u2019d hooked a large wels catfish.<\/p>\n

Realizing the fish would run far and deep, Ballard untied his 12-foot aluminum boat to comply with it. Thus started probably the most memorable fish struggle of his life.<\/p>\n

The catfish towed Ballard alongside the River Ebro as he struggled to struggle by means of sub-zero temperatures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next hour was simply painful, as my muscles fatigued and the adrenaline wore off,\u201d Ballard wrote in a Facebook publish<\/a>. \u201cMy physique temperature started to crash, and I discovered myself crouched within the backside of the boat making an attempt to carry on whereas shivering uncontrollably.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt one point panic set in as I thought I could see my braid (line) fraying in the first rod guide, but on closer inspection it turned out to be icy slush forming in all the guides as the wet braid ran through under tension.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, his chief knot confirmed above water, and Ballard knew the catfish was shut. The fish had towed his boat practically a mile.<\/p>\n

Ballard placed on frozen gloves and commenced hand-lining the massive cat to the floor. He put all of the strain he may on the tiring fish.<\/p>\n

\u201cI needed this battle to be over one way or another,\u201d Ballard wrote on Facebook. \u201cSo I just pulled with all I had left in me. Each time the fish ran I nearly lost a digit, as by this time my hands were so cold they weren\u2019t really doing what my brain was telling them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, an 8-foot-plus wels catfish surfaced, and Ballard managed to get a hand on its jaw.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was physically and mentally exhausted, but had to give one last push to secure my prize,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIt was the biggest battle of my fishing career, yet I wouldn\u2019t wish it on anyone!\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunrise got here and white frost cloaked all the things. He managed to land the catfish, laying it on a tarp the place he measured and weighed it at 222 kilos. He launched the fish unhurt.<\/p>\n

While Ballard\u2019s fish is a huge by any customary, it\u2019s shy of the River Ebro file by 28 kilos. The International Game Fish Association all-tackle file for wels catfish is 297 kilos, 9 ounces, from Italy\u2019s River Po. Attila Zsedely caught that fish in 2010.<\/p>\n

About Wels Catfish<\/h2>\n
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Ballard launched the catfish again into the River Ebro. Ditch Ballard<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wels are an enormous number of scaleless fish native to Europe and 80 pounders are frequent. According to IGFA, wels have been launched to most of central and japanese Europe, and are additionally discovered all through Asia Minor and central Asia, England, Tunisia, and Algeria. Wels largely inhabit deep lakes and rivers, although they enter brackish water within the Baltic and Black Seas and spawn within the salt water of the Aral Sea.<\/p>\n

These bottom-dwellers are voracious predators, feeding totally on smaller fish, crayfish, and frogs. They additionally eat waterfowl, and there are tales of the large cats attacking canines and even babies.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT: The Biggest Record Catfish from Around the World<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Wels are prized sport fish. Anglers primarily catch them with bait, however lures and trolling additionally work. Catfish followers additionally think about them good on the dinner plate, and their roe makes for a very good caviar substitute.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n