21.03.2013

Magical 120 kg mark broken

Tostedt. This is an account of 9 March 2013. We are in Ostiglia/Revere on the middle reaches of the Po. Black Cat anglers and guides Stefan Seuß and Benjamin Gründer are on the Po together with ten anglers from the Wittenberg/Dessau area. The water temperature of the river is still mild for the time of year, at 8 degrees, and the rain is pouring down. The water level begins to rise and, within the first hour, the formidable river rises to more than 1.5m above its normal level. David Otto and Mark Potschka (owners of www.nipos.de) set up on the tip of an island from where they can present their baits directly in a ditch currently being flooded by the rising river. Even in the ditch, the water level is now 1.2 metres.

Before they start fishing, Benjamin Gründer shows the two anglers another rig consisting of free line only so as not to frighten seasoned giant wels. Many wels anglers might expect the big predators to be in deep areas, but in rising and murky waters in particular, the wels are drawn tight to the land and even into the shallowest flooded grassland. The moment of impact comes at exactly 20:00 and an unusually strong opponent asks everything of David Otto. At first, David and Mark try to overcome the violent runs of the wels from the bank, but they quickly realise there is no stopping the fish and decide to follow it in the dinghy.

The battle continues for over 30 minutes and the fish can barely be raised off the bottom. After 35 minutes, the wels is finally landed and it is immediately clear that we are dealing with an exceptional fish. Stefan Seuß and Benjamin Gründer weigh the fish and read off a record weight of 122.5 kilos (270 lb 7 oz) with a length of 253cm. Even for experienced wels anglers Stefan and Benni, the catch is the heaviest they have ever known.