Wels catfish do not live in the United States. This giant fish is hard to miss. The fish is prohibited from most US waters because it is invasive. It grows very large and eats small fish.
Wels catfish live in Europe and Asia. They live in large, warm lakes and deep, slow rivers with foliage and rocks to hide. They wait in these places to ambush prey.
There are no US laws preventing wels catfish from being imported for pets or food. So Michigan listed them as prohibited.
An unusual wels habitat is the Chernobyl cooling ponds. The catfish there seem healthy.
The blue catfish is the largest North American catfish. The record is 293 kilograms. Catfish bite when spawning. They live in many places worldwide.
River catfish live in the Mekong River. Documents show farms still grow African catfish despite a ban. Voracious wels catfish threaten native species. They may reduce water quality.
The walking catfish is invasive in Florida. It navigates wetlands and canals. Catfish is a healthy, low-calorie fish.
What’s the biggest wels catfish ever caught?
The world record for the biggest catfish ever caught was a Mekong catfish. In 2005 a man caught a Mekong catfish weighing 646 pounds, 9 feet, taking the world record for the biggest catfish.
Wels catfish easily topped 9 feet. The species is the largest freshwater fish in Europe. They are capable of living for decades, grow continuously, and reach their largest size in rivers that have become world famous for their association with the species, most notably the River Po. The wels also inspires a nearly cultlike following of anglers obsessed with catching and releasing a specimen that’s fractionally bigger—even if only by a few centimeters—than the previous longest fish. Since 2017 the length record has been beaten five times, including twice in the first half of this year.
The big flathead measured 97.5cm and 7.5kg. Chris was fishing in a river near Mollymook on the NSW South Coast, slowly retrieving a 40mm shallow diving lure. After a couple of hours he felt a sharp tap, followed by a dull heavy weight.
In a 2022 study, Larsson and his colleagues documented a 6.4-foot-long individual — the biggest among 1,183 catfish caught — which they estimated to be 70 years old. The recently caught wels catfish is probably 20 to 30 years old, Larsson estimated, but “a fish of the size that was caught in River Po would be around 100 years old in Sweden.”
In fact, the biggest Wels measured range from 300 pounds to 660. Over the years, many catfish have been caught and recorded as world record holders. In this section, we will take a look at some of the biggest catfish ever recorded, including Blue Catfish, Wels Catfish, and Mekong Giant Catfish.
The Wels Catfish is a large freshwater fish found in Europe. Here’s a look at 10 of the biggest whopper wels catfish ever caught on rod and reel. Alessandro Biancardi caught the pending 9.35-foot IGFA world record wels in May while fishing the River Po in northern Italy’s Lombardy region. Like many wels anglers, Biancardi elected to forego weighing his catch to minimize the stress on the fish.
This huge catfish weighed a massive 280 pounds and was dubbed Catfish God. This fish was hunted in Po River near the Adriatic Sea. This monster catfish made headlines around the world and cemented his name in the annals of record-breaking catfish catches. “The fight was intense, but I knew I had to stay focused and rely on my years of experience to bring in this behemoth.” The catch shattered the previous world record for the largest wels catfish.
One of the largest catfish ever caught was a Mekong giant catfish weighing 646 pounds and measuring 9 feet long. This colossal catfish is the largest freshwater fish ever documented since Thailand began keeping records in 1981. With each enormous catch, the world of fishing marvels at the ability of catfish to thrive in various environments globally, illustrating their adaptability and impressive size.
The wels catfish, the largest freshwater fish found in Europe, measured 8 feet, 8 inches and, weighed an estimated 286 pounds. The Mirror and NT News reported that the biggest wels catfish ever recorded was a 9.1-footer from the Po Delta.
And while catching any size catfish can be exciting, there’s nothing quite like reeling in a record-breaking catch. In 2005, fisherman Chaokun Markham caught a Mekong Giant weighing a staggering 646 pounds and measuring nearly 9 feet long. The fish was caught in the Mae Klong River in Thailand and took Markham over an hour to reel in.
How big can a wels catfish get?
The Wels catfish is the largest freshwater fish in Europe and Western Asia. It can reach a length exceeding 3 m (9.8 ft) and a maximum weight of over 200 kg (440 lb). Only under good living circumstances can the wels catfish reach lengths of more than 2 m (6 ft 7 in).
The average weight of this fish species is 150-600 lb. There have been frequent cases where they weigh up to 800 lb. In fact, the giant wels catfish world record was set by this fish.
In January 2018, an angler battled a wels catfish for 45 minutes before finally landing it. The 8.79-foot River Po behemoth was spotted nearly two dozen times on a fish finder over the course of a year.
In February 2015, an 8.76-foot, or 267-centimeter, wels catfish caught on the River Po was hailed as a world record at the time. Catfishes range in size from a few inches to 15 feet long. Despite having a name derived from the German term for “Catfish”, they have been known feeding on a wide range of animals. They mainly reside in the rivers and lakes of Central, South-central & Eastern Europe as well as the Black and Caspian seas.
Wels catfish have been known to grow up to 15 feet (4.6 meters) long and reach sizes of 300 to 660 pounds. They can live for decades, possibly as long as 80 years. Radiation continues to be emitted from a mass of material in reactor 4 known as “The Elephant’s Foot”.
Is wels catfish invasive?
The Wels catfish is invasive. It grows to 7 feet. It feeds on declining species like salmon. This makes it invasive. It even attacks land mammals.
The Wels displays invasive traits when outside its habitat. It is invasive in Europe. It isn’t in the US due to its habits. Wels have a large habitat in Europe and Asia. An invasive species causes environmental or human harm.
To prevent the Wels entering, Ontario regulated it. It would alter food webs if introduced. It is one of the largest freshwater fish. It has nicknames like “The Monster”.
It lives in lowland rivers and lakes. It preys on fish and vertebrates. Native to Central and Eastern Europe. It threatens vertebrates. It impacts water quality. Introduced by aquaculture or illegal stocking.
Like invasives, Wels thrive where native species left. It grows fast, lives long and reproduces easily.
Where are Wels invasive? Eastern Europe. The continent’s largest freshwater fish threatens declining native fish.