A carbon rod that can resist, bent like a bow, up to a weight of 200 kilos. A boat with a combustion engine to move quickly. And an electric motor, to glide silently on the water, to make small movements, to reach the floodplains where others cannot reach. It is the equipment that Andrea Poggioli, 40 years old, a worker, uses to hunt for the giants of the Po river in the Ferrara area, catfish that are almost three meters long and weigh up to 130 kilograms. He preys which, once immortalized in souvenir shots, are thrown back into the water.
"I have to break the world record in catfish fishing, the one I caught was exactly 2 meters and 56 centimeters - he tells Resto del Carlino - The record is three metres, just a breath is enough. And a lot of luck". Poggioli comes from a "dynasty" of hunters of "monsters" as he calls them. He is the son of Giuliano, 68 years old, a lifelong fisherman. And he is the father of a 12-year-old boy who is also in love with fishing.
"We catch a lot of them, we know which waters they frequent, in which depths they hide, where they go to eat because perhaps in that bend of the river they find more food, I know their behaviour, there are places that I wouldn't reveal even under torture".
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