Record: angler lands giant 2.5-metre catfish

Captured European catfish, known in English as catfish (stock image)

By euronews

Published on 01/06/2026 - 18:37 GMT+2•Updated 19:29

Paul had landed a 2.47-metre catfish and was hoping to break his own record before long. But his friend Mohammed unexpectedly beat him to it.

In the Dutch town of Dodewaard on the River Waal, an angler recently set a new record. Mohammed Massaoudi was rewarded for his carefully planned hunt for the largest catfish in the Netherlands. He even used an echo sounder. At the weekend a 2.49-metre-long catfish finally took his bait and Mohammed hauled it ashore.

The curious twist: the previous record holder was Mohammed’s friend and fishing partner, Paul Breems, who had most recently landed a 2.47-metre catfish. After that catch Paul was keen to raise the bar again, but his mate beat him to it. According to a report by bild.de, which in turn cites the fishing magazine Blinker, Paul helped his friend carry the catfish ashore. In recent years he had steadily improved his own records, from an initial 2.42 metres to 2.47 metres.

The Dutch newspaper De Gelderlander reported that Mohammed will now be officially registered as the record holder. Paul apparently took it in his stride and congratulated his friend.

The catfish, incidentally, did not stay on land but was released back into the River Waal so that it can carry on growing. So Paul could yet reclaim the record in future.

Last year, a 90-kilogram catfish in Lake Brombach in Bavaria bit several swimmers. The fish was eventually shot dead by police. According to the officers, the animal had been behaving aggressively.

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