Catfish angling from a belly boat

For years I had always considered belly boat fishing unsuitable for the techniques I normally use from a boat to target catfish—mainly spinning and vertical jigging. On top of that, I always thought it was dangerous, because in my opinion a belly boat wasn’t stable enough to handle a fight with fish that can easily exceed 100 kg in weight and reach lengths of 2.5 meters. In short, I always saw it more as a craft for those who fish for black bass or pike in lakes.

Over time, though, I saw more and more fellow anglers from Northern Europe using this funny inflatable in breathtaking battles with gigantic catfish—even on rivers. That’s when I began to take a closer interest in this world that had always seemed so far from mine.

Thanks to my sponsor company, which launched a fully equipped, oversized model on the market specifically designed to meet the demands of catfish fishing, I decided to buy one.

So in the end, I too had my own “Belly Cat.” I started customizing it with the latest technologies: an electric motor with variable speed and reverse thrust, and a live sonar fish finder, both powered by ultra-light LiFePo4 batteries.

After a few weeks of training with the setup and fine-tuning all the accessories, I was finally ready for a true catfish belly boat session.

I drove 1,300 km by car to reach the mecca of catfish fishing—the Ebro River in Mequinenza. Even there, it took me a few days to get the hang of piloting the belly boat with a combination of fins and the electric motor, especially in strong current and wind. Given how light the boat is, it wasn’t easy to stay positioned vertically over a fish once located.

On the third day of this Spanish session, the three of us were out on our belly boats, upstream near the town of Caspe. That’s when the unexpected happened, and here’s my story: I drifted several hundred meters away from the others, following a large mark on the sonar that was moving quickly toward the middle of the river before stopping at a depth of 15 meters. I reached the fish and positioned myself directly above it, dropping my 250 g jig head rigged with a 22 cm shad right in front of the catfish. I teased the lure gently… the fish refused, as if annoyed, and turned away. I carefully repositioned myself vertically and tried again in total silence… and then—BAM!!!

A never-ending battle began with the massive predator, which stubbornly refused to leave the bottom. After about 30 minutes, and after being dragged for several kilometers, I finally managed to get my gloved hands into its mouth. It was enormous—a majestic fish, something I had never seen before, with a gigantic head!

But the fight wasn’t over. The fish was still in the water, and I was far from shore and my two friends. So I started yelling like crazy to Peter, who was the closest: “PETERRRRR HELLLPPPPP MEEEEE… PETERRRRR HELP ME, I CAUGHT A MONSTER FISH!!!” In the end, it was Patrick who came to my rescue, helping me secure the fish with the stringer technique—passing a rope through its mouth and gill opening so we could slowly tow it to shore.

Here are the photos of this truly unique and impressive fish, which measured an incredible 262 cm. Based on its huge head and massive body, we estimated its weight between 125 and 130 kg. I’ll also leave you the YouTube link where you can watch the full video of the catch.