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        IT IS SAFE to say that the Wels Catfish is one of the biggest and ugliest species you can ever hope to get on a hook. It is a monster fish, still very popular in Georgia. I went on a trip with some Russians, Armenians and Georgians to participate in a very professional organized fishing trip to one of the big lakes holding catfish up to 20 kilos. The team have worked together for many years, and each member

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has his special task to attend to. The whole arrange-ment is military in it's nature. The "colonel" Alika, an Armenian living in Georgia for many years commanded his troops with the utmost precision, and a total of 14 rods were prepared for the attack on the catfish. Alika’s daughter claims that his wardrobe consists of any thinkable military outfit handpicked to suit every possible need for fishing. So I guess it’s war.

The monster-facts.
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The wels catfish, Silurus glanis, is a scale less fresh-water catfish recognizable by its broad, flat head and wide mouth. It has very slippery green-brown skin. Its belly is pale yellow or white. Wels catfish can live for at least thirty years and have very good hearing. The wels catfish lives in large, warm lakes and deep, slow-flowing rivers, and feed on annelid worms, gastropods, insects, crustaceans, and fish; the larger ones also eat frogs, mice, rats and aquatic birds such as ducks. With a possible total length up to 3 m (ten feet) and a maximum weight of over 150 kg (330 lbs) it is the second largest freshwater fish in its region after the sturgeon. Most wels catfish are only about 1.3 to 1.6 m (4 ft 3 in to 5 ft 3 in) long; fish longer than 2 m (6 ft 6 in) are normally extremely rare. At 1.5 m they can weigh 15 to 20 kg and at 2.20 m they can weigh 65 kg. The record sized was 3 m (9.9 ft) long fish, caught in the Danube in Romania, weighing about 220 kg (440 lb). (Reference: Text and picture from Wikipedia).
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Click here if you want to se a video of a real monster being caught.

The Process.
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Each rod, fourteen of them all together, are prepared with the bait. But you don't just throw it all into the sea. The bait must be carefully placed at the best location. For that you need a boat, a rower, and a commanding officer to get it all right. This takes som considerable abount of time, because the rower have to transport the bait from each rod to the correct location out in the lake.

The Bait.
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The bait is homemade, and consists of a secret mix of soya, bread and a lot of other secret components. The magic mix is pressurized, and out comes square pellets which are irresistible for the catfish. The hooks are attached to the pellet in a rather sinister way. Each pellet gets a set of 8 hooks buried into it and a heavy lump of led on top to keep it at the bottom, where the catfish feeds. The bait is transported out to the correct location with boat.

The wait.
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It's impossible to keep track on what happens with fourteen rods, so they are equipped with small bells, that rings if a fish starts checking out the bait. During that period, which can be several hours you need to find something to occupie your self with. Fishing carp can be such a thing, or eating svadi with your fishing-buddies. Alika had it all figured out: From his Lada Niva he pullet out a tent he had fitted to the car. Chairs and a multitude of Russian, Armenian and Georgian food kept us there for several hours, and for those in need of extra inspiration, he kindly offered “cha cha”, geogian jet fuel.

The result.
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Well. We didn't get any of the monsters on this trip. The catfish decided to stay away from all earthly temptations served by our party. But at least one guy was lucky enough to get at 2 kilo carp. It's part of the story that he didn't belong to our party. Nevertheless I needed pictures, and he was kind enough to pose with his fish. I guess his wife had to spend most of the night cleaning the thing, and remove the three hundred and fifty-six thousand small bones.

The alternative.
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If you are ready for some really big fish, go after the wels catfish. It is huge, and gives you a real fight for the money. You might consider hiring a guide and a Niva to. And if you don't catch any catfish , you might be lucky enough to catch a big carp.
    
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The camp.