23.04.2018

265-centimetre monster catfish on the WILD CAT´z Adventure Weeks at Wallerwelt in Italy!

Tostedt. On Friday 6 April, a dream came true for WILD CAT´z Adventure Weeks participant Philipp Rehberger. The angler landed a 265-centimetre leviathan weighing an estimated 130 kilograms on the floodwaters of the river Po in Italy. It was the fish of his life. Firstly, however, Philipp had to endure a brutal fight from the dinghy that lasted over 25 minutes. The catfish took off upstream immediately after the bite in just 80 centimetres of water, which is typical behavior of only the largest specimens, before sitting on the bottom for several minutes as solid as a rock.
The fully parabolic power blank of the Black Cat WILD CAT´z rod eventually forced the fish to move on, allowing the fight to continue in deep, fast-flowing water. After many nerve-racking minutes, the catfish made its first appearance at the surface. Philipp Rehberger and WILD CAT´z Adventure Weeks organizer Patrick Haas quickly realized from the huge appearance of the head that they had to be looking at one of the largest catfish every caught with a fishing rod worldwide. Patrick Haas used the catfish grip to take the river monster by the jaws and, with the help of Philipp Rehberger, pulled it aboard the 270 cm Zeepter Ultra dinghy. Once on terra firma, the catfish was measured in front of several witnesses to confirm its enormous dimensions, before being photographed.
The outstanding specimen fell to a 5 g U-float rig. The inconspicuous Black Cat Gripper single hook in size 1/0 impressed with its secure hold in the mouth of the catfish and withstood enormous stresses during the fight.
Peter Merkel and Patrick Haas, long-standing team anglers for Tostedt-based fishing tackle manufacturer Zebco Europe, organize guided catfish adventure tours on the river Po in Italy in conjunction with Markus Eule's "Wallerwelt" angling centre. The tours focus on practical transfer of expertise to WILD CAT´z Adventure Weeks participants and shared exploration of the most unknown stretches of water. The professionally organized tours produce monster catches on a relatively frequent basis.

Further information:
www.team-black-cat.com
www.wildcatz.eu