Fisherman reels in 19 STONE catfish

Yuri El Diablo Grisendi from Reggio Nell Emilia, Italy was out looking for fish on his boat on the River Po near Mantova when he came across the mammoth catch.

The 38-year-old, who has been fishing for 20 years, said he has never seen anything like the beast he hooked and that it is comfortably his biggest catch.

Video footage shows the fisherman fighting against the catfish, which does its upmost to swim free.

Eventually Yuri is able to wear the fish out and leans over his boat in order to pull the catch on board.

Video footage shows the fisherman fighting against the catfish, which does its upmost to swim free.

Eventually Yuri is able to wear the fish out and leans over his boat in order to pull the catch on board.

'It's comfortably the biggest fish I've ever caught - 265lbs is absolutely massive.'

Yuri took just over an hour to reel in the other-worldly fish and is in no doubt very pleased with his achievement.

He said: 'It's by far the biggest fish I've ever caught and it put up a real fight but it was worth every second.

'It took a lot of patience and strength but to look back at those pictures of me with the fish makes every second worth it.' 

(dailymail.co.uk)