Sometimes luck favors the prepared and for longtime catfish angler, Alessandro Biancardi of Italy, his first stop proved favorable. Biancardi has been pursuing trophy catfish for more than 23 years and it finally paid off when he landed a 285 cm (roughly 9 1/3 feet long) Wels Catfish from the Po River. His catch may prove to be certified as the new World Record Wels Catfish!
MadCat Fishing shared his amazing catch on Instagram and some more details about his amazing day.
“… Alessandro Biancardi (ITA) shocks the whole catfish world with a 285 cm monster caught in river Po a few days ago! Alessandro’s huge kitten beats the previous world record by 4cm and the fish is a result of 23 years of hard work!”
Biancardi also shared the following about his historic biggest catfish catch with the Mad Cat group.
“Everything started as a normal day of fishing,” Biancardi wrote. “I went to the great River Po. Before leaving I checked knots, hooks, each connection because I’m extremely meticulous. I always need to be 100% sure that everything is in place if a dream fish decided to bite my lure.
“I was alone facing the biggest catfish I’ve seen in 23 years,” Biancardi wrote. “I tried gloving its mouth 2-3 times, but it was still too strong. I decided to go in shallow water to land it from shore and after a few tries, I managed to land it!”
Here was his setup for his potential record catch:
- Rod: MADCAT #XTAAZ Spin 2.70m
- Reel: Savage Gear #SGS8 8000
- Line: MADCAT prototype braid
- Lure: Savage Gear #Cannibal 15cm
- Jighead: MADCAT (12/0) 40g
You can see more about his catch and the measurement of his catch on these posts at the MADCAT Instagram.
![](https://media.wired2fish.com/uploads/2023/06/record-wels-catfish-italy-mouth-head.webp)