
Fishing with two beginners and my personal catfish record 2014
Vitali DalkeTeilen
My longtime friends Eugen and Vitali had been dreaming of going catfishing with me for a few years now, to experience the "monsters" they regularly saw in my photos in person. The preparations dragged on, but finally, their moment had come!
Mid-May. The weather was changeable, but the water was already warm enough. The carp spawning season was approaching, followed by the catfish spawning season. The car was packed on Friday evening, and we set off on Saturday morning. I planned to explore one of three previously unfamiliar river sections. The main task was getting to the water with our low-riding car. After shopping, purchasing licenses, and buying provisions, we fortunately arrived at the first spot marked on my map without any major problems. It was already well past midday.
As we set up camp, unpacked our gear, and ate dinner, evening gradually fell. There was no time to rest. Since my companions at this point still had little understanding of the intricacies of fishing, I had to take everything into my own hands: assembling the feeder rods, mixing the groundbait, and preparing the catfish rods. While I pumped up the boat and equipped it with a depth sounder and electric motor, the guys managed to catch a few bream.

Without wasting any time, I brought two catfish rigs to the nearby island. Along the island were patches of water lilies at a depth of 1–1.5 meters, followed by a drop-off to 2–2.5 meters, which gradually descended to 3–4 meters. I positioned the rigs so that the baitfish swam just below the surface, at the edge of the water lilies and the ledge. I was sure that carp, preparing to spawn, were already in the shallow, overgrown area. The catfish would naturally follow them.
Finally, Eugen got one rod, Vitali the other. One rod each was enough for them to start with! I positioned my catfish rod with an underwater float directly on the channel—from there, the catfish would move up into the shallow areas.
As soon as dusk fell, the first bite came on the bottom rig in the channel. Unfortunately, after a vigorous but brief attack, no fight followed.
The guys received a brief introduction: how to properly hook, how to fish, and how to generally behave. We couldn't relax for long! The outermost catfish abruptly bent and then righted itself again! The ripcord snapped!
I loudly instructed Vitali what to do! He performed everything correctly and was already panting as he tried to hold the violently twitching rod. I repeatedly reminded him to "pump" and explained that simply reeling in wouldn't do any good. Soon, we saw Vitali's first catfish of his life! For starters – a great specimen!
The reel I ordered from Australia for testing couldn't even withstand a half-sized catfish—it started to jam. I had to replace it with a robust spinning reel with 0.35 mm braid.
We celebrated the first catfish with a cold beer. Vitali confessed that his knees still wobbled and his heart almost jumped out of his chest during the fight. I'm so happy to see such emotions! These feelings fade over time, but the success of friends can still truly inspire you!

The night passed quietly. It was very cold and damp. I slept under the stars and was surprised in the morning as I wrung out my sleeping bag. Without wasting any time, I herded the boys into the water for a quick photo session with the catfish. Afterward, the catfish disappeared into the murky water with a flick of its tail.
The day was getting hot. There were hardly any bites on the feeder rods, and when there were, they were only small bleak and finger-length roach. I took advantage of the newbies' enthusiasm and equipped them with additional pole rods, while I tied rigs myself and observed the actions and successes of my partners.
After lunch, I again brought a catfish rod with an underwater float into the main current and positioned another at the transition from the main current to the shallow area, far from the current. This placed all four rods on the route that active catfish would take to their feeding grounds. Upon leaving the riverbed, they inevitably had to cross the shallow area toward the island to hunt along it.
As the setting sun turned orange and touched the treetops on the opposite bank, we heard the bell ring. The bite came on the underwater float in the current. Despite the sizable bait, the catfish wasn't particularly large. After immediately removing it from the hook and taking a photo, I let it continue to grow.

I brought the rig back into the channel. It was getting dark. All the catfish rods were checked and loaded with fresh bait. Occasionally, the feeder rods broke the silence—thankfully, the bait supply was replenished. We prepared dinner over a beer.
While we were eating, there was a sudden bite on the second rod, which was positioned on the catfish's path to the island. Unfortunately, the catfish didn't hook, but it confirmed that the choice of path was the right one.
We finished our meal at dusk. The boys wanted to go home. Naturally, I offered some rather loud, not-so-censor-worthy arguments as to why we should stay at least one more night! Finally, we issued an ultimatum: If a single catfish is caught today, we're staying!
After the delicious dinner, the guys didn't sit around for long. Neither the feeder rods nor the alternative of catching a catfish could stop them. They disappeared into the tent one after the other and were soon snoring. The snoring from the tent was really loud!
I stared at the darkening sky for a long time, listening to the sounds of nature and hearing occasional fish activity in the darkness. There were a few attacks on the baitfish, but I waited in vain for a sure bite.
I closed my eyes peacefully, listened to the frog choir and the snoring of my friends, and fell asleep.
I was awakened by the ringing of the bell and the beeping of the bite alarm. I quickly ran to the outermost rod, positioned near the island by the water lilies, and struck immediately as soon as I felt contact with the fish!
The strike was met with a violent tail flick and a sideways jerk. Ten meters of line immediately shot off the reel! "Finally, something serious," I thought, keeping my cool and trying to prevent my opponent from fleeing into the water lilies. That wasn't easy, because the worthy opponent had bitten the very rod where the spinning reel with the 0.35 mm braid was!
After a while, I felt the catfish stop! From the twitching of the line, I realized the fish had swum into underwater obstacles. To prevent it from getting tangled, I risked everything, holding the spool tight and leaning against the rod with all my weight. After a few jerks, the catfish freed itself! I won back about five meters of line, then it darted to the side again, stripping off several meters of the singing braid. And then it was in the water lilies!
Relying on the strength of my equipment and fending off my opponent's attacks, I began to pump him out of the lily pad. I could feel the mesh cutting through the lily pads. Soon the catfish was in open water. A few more attempts to escape, and then he gave up!
I slowly pulled him onto the bank, grabbed his powerful jaws, and began to realize that I might have finally broken my personal record. Without hesitation, I removed the single hook from his mouth, carefully hooked him on the line, and went into my sleeping bag. The night was already giving way to early dawn, but a few hours of sleep wouldn't hurt.
I woke up with the feeling that someone was standing next to me. And that's exactly what happened. Eugen was standing next to the rod, slowly smoking a cigarette.
"Well then, go and get some beer! We're staying one more night!" I said.
At first, Eugen didn't believe I had caught anything, but when he saw the catfish's bearded head emerge from among the aquatic plants, all his doubts vanished! Shortly afterward, we also retrieved Vitali from his "nest"!
"Guys, whether you like it or not, the catfish needs to be measured, photographed, and released quickly," I announced. "Put on your shorts and get in the water," I added, tossing them two euro-som.de T- shirts .

First, the catfish was measured. Yes! It was my personal record! The catfish was not only long, but also very well-fed and heavy! Vitali and Eugen could barely lift it together! We all enjoyed our morning swim in the river. No one noticed that the water was cold and the catfish was slippery and slimy.



We tried to do everything quickly and efficiently. Even though it was the first time the guys had seen such a large catfish, they didn't hesitate for long, tried to hide their fear, and posed with the trophy. Later, when the three of us were waist-deep in the water, I showed them how to stabilize the catfish by gently holding it under the pectoral fins. After a brief rest, the catfish opened its mouth, raised its barbels, and disappeared into the murky water!

The boys and I were more than pleased! We happily scraped the catfish slime off our hands and laughed! During the photo session, the catfish was nicknamed "Godzilla."
"Bathing with Godzilla is something special! We've seen and tried a lot in our lives, but something like this is truly extraordinary," they said.
The day was incredibly hot! We reminisced about the moments we'd shared, caught bait, and occasionally cooled off in the cool water. We constantly laughed about the various fishing incidents. It was hilarious! The setting sun and the strong wind completely exhausted us by evening.
After dinner, we sat down in our chairs and waited for the next monster. The bite came at dusk. After striking and confirming that the fish was on the hook, I handed the catfish rod to Eugen. Groaning and struggling for balance, Eugen yelled to the heavens how "awesome" this was!
But then the mishap! Halfway through, the catfish came free... Eugen was visibly disappointed. "It doesn't matter, it happens. There are even more annoying things than when a 'submarine' that you can't stop runs into underwater obstacles and leaves you no chance," I tried to cheer him up. "Next time it will work."
We slept like the dead that night, which became obvious the next morning when Vitali noticed that the line on the right catfish rod was stretched in the opposite direction along the bank. It was clear we'd missed a bite, but a rare twitch of the line indicated the fish was still on the hook. I jumped into the boat and freed the catfish. After pulling up some large branches and a lot of vegetation from the bottom, I finally managed to pull it out. The catfish was small, but it made me work pretty hard.

And then, as always, the weary packing up followed... Sunburnt, windswept, but happy, we slowly bid farewell to the river. Before we even left, the guys started planning the date for our next vacation. I smiled quietly as I spooled up the leaders... They had been preparing for this trip for so long. Three years, roughly? And how much they had missed!
I'm sure they won't hesitate next time if they get the chance to swim with a "Godzilla" again, or even catch one themselves. Two other people were infected, smeared with catfish slime. Two more helped gently release the giant into the wild, and none of them considered slaughtering the catfish like a cow and taking it home...

Both admitted that they even felt a bit sorry for the catfish. Such a huge, mysterious creature... I was even more pleased by that than by the realization that I'd broken my personal record. Records are still to come, but such experiences are always special and unique.
Best regards,
Yours, Vitali Dalke
Year 2014