A ‘monster’ catfish could be the largest ever caught, measuring an astounding 9 feet and 4 1/4 inches. An Italian angler, Alessandro Biancardi, fought with the bottom-dwelling beast for 43 minutes before finally reeling it in.

It started as a normal day of fishing on the river Po for Alessandro Biancardi, but it turned into a dream come true for the experienced angler. He managed to hook the record-breaking catch after just a few casts, but he soon realized he was facing the biggest fish of his 23-year career all alone.

Alessandro, who is part of the MADCAT fishing team, didn’t realize the size of the catfish until it breached the surface, and he struggled to haul it into his boat and onto land.

Although he was curious about the weight of the behemoth, he didn’t want to distress it too much, so he decided to release it, hoping it could give another angler the same joy it gave him.

After a recent drop in water levels following huge floods in northern Italy, Alessandro decided to take to the water last week, not expecting anything out of the ordinary on his solo trip.

He prepared for his day on the water as he usually would, making sure all his equipment was in place. And to his surprise, his dream came true, and he hooked a mammoth catfish, which he has now shared incredible pictures of.

Alessandro described his amazement at coming across the “prehistoric fish,” which is almost the length of two people. He felt his adrenaline pumping hard and almost went into a panic, being all alone facing the biggest catfish he had ever seen in 23 years.

His battle with the big catfish saw him tackle fast-moving water and debris in the swollen river, and he almost lost his boat and equipment as he jumped onto land to try and haul it in.

Alessandro finally managed to land the massive catfish after a complicated fight, and he tied it up to let it recover before realizing that his boat, which was not anchored, was drifting off in the current. He had to swim to recover his boat and belongings.

He then called his friend to help him measure the beast, as he was sure the fish was a special one. Sure enough, the catfish was a record-breaker, surpassing the current IGFA all-tackle world record for length by a full 40cm.

Although Alessandro was very curious about the weight, he decided not to stress the rare specimen too much and chose to safely release it, hoping it could bring the same joy to another angler as it did to him.