280 Pound Catfish : Man catches giant cannibal catfish (Video – Photo)

280 Pound Catfish? Italian fisherman Dino Ferrari, an expert at catching big wels catfish, landed himself an enormous 280-pounder in the Po Delta, a part of the Po River, the longest river in Italy at more than 400 miles.

And as far as rod-and-reel catches go, his catfish checks in as the heaviest ever dragged ashore. The pictures, published by Sportex Italia, are nothing short of crazy:

As noted in the Daily Mirror, catfish are indiscriminate carnivores, eating whatever comes across their path. Reports of pigeons being plucked off the water by catfish have popped up from time to time.

Ferrari’s catch is large enough that it could conceivably swallow its captor whole. From this angle, it’s not hard to imagine:

The world record wels catfish, for what it’s worth, also came from the Po Delta. Which makes one wonder, in spite of the cliche, what exactly they’re putting in that water.

Here’s one more photo, just to get a sense of the length on this fish:

Agencies/Canadajournal