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Which, after three hours of fighting, the help of the fishermen was needed to bring it ashore: from the shore to the hill where the carts were left, the fish were dragged by a giant man. Interestingly, the fisherman, who caught a large catch, was not interested in catfish fishing.
And on May 15, along with his brother on Lake Sartai, he hoped to fish pike for each other. The interviewee hopes to save the head of the catfish as a trophy. And he promises to hang up a happy fight by turning to his side, enduring a three-hour fight with the lake giant.
The fish of life
Rokiškėnas S. Spundzevičius has no doubts: this huge catfish, 2.5 m long and over 90 kg, is the fish of his life. It was not difficult to measure this catch. And weighing it is much more complicated. Because the giant fish didn’t fit the scales. He weighed twice: once the scale showed 93 kg and the other 95 kg. “Let’s say this: I weighed 90 kg”, summed up the interlocutor.
How big is this catfish? Close to records. It is claimed that in 2017, a 2.71 m long fish caught in the Tarn River in France was considered a (world) record catfish. Elsewhere, the catfish recorded on the world record chart is said to have weighed 327 kg. It was caught in the Dnieper River in Ukraine.
In Lithuania, a catfish about 2.5 m long was also caught last year. The largest catfish in the Nemunas near Rusne is believed to have been pulled by nets by fishermen in 1945 – the fish weighed 95 kg. Catfish are the largest fish that live in Lithuanian waters.
Thus, it can be seen that Rokiškėnas’ catch is not only his personal record, but also close to the national record.
It is interesting that S. Spunzdevičius has so far not been interested in catfish fishing. While fishing, as he says himself, depending on the mood, several times a week. The fisherman’s experience exceeds 35 years. The interlocutor cannot imagine his life without fishing. His personal records as of Saturday were 9 kg of pike caught in Lithuania and about 20 kg of cod caught in Norway.
The interlocutor does not have any special equipment for catfish. “Until now I have not been interested in catfish. I caught pike, starling and lo, catfish fishing never disappointed me. However, it happens that success smiles where you do not expect it,” said the interlocutor.
Interestingly, his friends, who are interested in catching these fish and have special equipment for them, have not caught such a large catch. Catfish weighing around 20 kg are the most common.
Seduced by a wobbler
And on Saturday morning, together with his brother S. Spundzevičius, he went to Lake Sartai to fish for pike. Long fishing was not planned. Until around noon a large catch was caught on the wobbler. The interlocutor speaks with respect to the caught catfish. The fight with the giant fish lasted a good three hours. It took a great deal of mastery to save the capture so it wouldn’t be interrupted.
The catfish did not give up: it rose to the surface, plunged into the depths, and was under the boat more than once. How did you manage to save him and bring him to the ground in this tense fight? The interlocutor was open: he had great success. The mere fact that such a fish is caught is a great success. After all, catching a fish is only a small part of success. Success is when the fish end up on shore.
And S. Spundzevičius intends to hang the twist, which withstood the three-hour struggle, on the wall of his house. Next to the head of the catfish, if only you could make trophies with it.
However, the victory over the giant was determined not only by blind success, but also by the tremendous experience of the fisherman, fishing technique, tremendous patience. After all, a careless movement could have caused the fish to run to the bottom of the lake. What a creature of weight and strength can be imagined in comparison: the very fatty bacon weighs 90-95 kg. “But with a piglet a man could fight on land. And the situation in the water is quite different: there the catfish is the ruler, there his verse and the advantage over man is enormous,” said S. Spundzevičius.
He calculated that the boat with the equipment and people weighed more than 350 kg, and this fish spread it all over the lake. And it even took three hours for the catfish to get tired enough to get it close to shore.
So the fight with the catfish was long and hard. What size of catch was possible, the interlocutor could only guess when the fish surfaced. As S. Spundzevičius said, the catch was reminiscent of a sizeable shark.
But what he saw when he managed to reach the shore with the fish was not expected not only by him, but also by the nearby fishermen. They didn’t just watch the fight with the fish. On the shore, the interlocutor’s first brother danced in the water. I tried to drag the fish to shore. A joint fishing force soon joined the Rokiškis: throwing their fishing gear, they began to help bring the catfish to shore. From the shore on a small hill, towards the carts, the fish was dragged in five. The fishermen even filmed S. Spundzevičius’s fight with the catfish, so both the photos and the visual material will remind us of the victory.
What does such a predator eat?
The fisherman did not return the fish to the water. It doesn’t make sense that. So, the head of the catfish, as the interlocutor hopes, will turn into a huge trophy and decorate the house. And the record catfish is promised to be tasted with friends. One part will be baked and the other part will be smoked. Catfish is quite a fatty fish and, above all, so big. “Friends who are interested in catfish fishing said that the most delicious is about 5 kg of catfish.
They are usually smoked. It is a fatty fish that drips fat onto the beard when eaten. And the bigger the fish, the fatter it is, ”said S. Spundzevičius. Asked about what these giant fish eat, the interlocutor said that after removing this catfish, a considerable pike, part of the heat and a large pile of bird bones were found in its belly.
How to prepare such a fish? As mentioned, it is smoked or marinated with lots of onions and baked in a skillet or on a grill.
Like-minded people
When asked what part of life is fishing, S. Spundzevičius is not hiding: a big one. He began to get acquainted with this fun, interesting, and meaningful hobby as a child. The first teacher was Dad. And when I was a teenager, I was already fishing independently from the age of 12-13.
How much time do you spend fishing today? The interlocutor is open: it depends on the weather and mood. Fishing usually takes place two to three times a week. And hours spent fishing are not measured just by the amount of fish caught and the size of the catch.
It is both recreation and the art of knowing nature. For patience, long hours of silence in the shelter of nature, the latter rewards many spectacular moments. It is both the knowledge of the unique world of the waters and the opportunity to admire birds and beasts.
And how does the family react to free time? S. Spundzevičius is open: they have like-minded views with his wife Jolita. Fishing, once considered a purely male occupation, is also rapidly gaining popularity among women. Ms. Jolita doesn’t keep any secrets – she’s not just proud of her husband, who caught such an impressive catch. He also likes to keep you company while you fish.
On the problems of the aquatic world
An impressive catch is not just an opportunity to celebrate the success of our country’s fishermen. This is an opportunity to ask an interviewer with many years of experience as a fisherman, what are the problems in Lithuanian waters today? S. Spundzevičius is open: one of the biggest problems is invasive species.
The almost uninvited aliens probably cause the biggest problems for local crayfish – the latter are practically no longer found in Lithuanian waters. And invasive fish species like primroses, rotans. The latter are already found in the bodies of water in the Zarasai district. They are dangerous when eating other fingerling fish, making it difficult to maintain the population of those fish.
Cormorants also cause great damage to aquatic life. S. Spundzevičius does not hide that these birds are destroying the island of Lake Round (near Ilzenberg). Not only the vegetation of the island, especially the trees, but also the inhabitants of the lake have been significantly affected by their activities. These birds kill or harm fish in large numbers. Therefore, to preserve the rich world of Lithuanian waters, it is necessary to manage the population of these raptors.
