A BRITISH angler came within a whisker of breaking the 250lb River Ebro catfish record when he banked this 234lb brute recently.
Mark Steward-Brown, from Norfolk, had a PB of just 48lb before visiting the Spanish waterway, but on the third day of the trip he increased this almost five-fold when the monster picked up his hair-rigged halibut pellet hookbait.
“The fight lasted 45 minutes – it was a full-on tug of war,” said Mark.
“I had to have the drag set very high to keep it away from the snags, but the initial run was still 50 or 60 metres upstream.”
Mark was fishing with local guide Pontus Ingvarsson, and also landed four other huge cats over the 100lb barrier during his stay.
“I enjoy fishing for any species,” Mark added,
“but to me, catfish fight harder than any other freshwater fish.”
