THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

Wels Catfish - now excluded from the British Record Fish List
On a more positive note, providing you are willing to widen your angling and travel horizons and go
about things in an organised systematic manner by identifying a target species, then a stretch of water
you know has big enough specimens constrained within it, if you want it badly enough, it should only
be a matter of time, bearing in mind that what at face value might appear to be the cheapest option,
could well turn into something very much more expensive if repeat visits due to initial failures
subsequently have to be made.
So nominate wisely, which for me means exploring the possibilities of quite a short species list
comprising wels catfish, mekong catfish, arapaima, siamese carp, the various sturgeons, and the Asian
freshwater stingray species Himantura chaophraya. Nile Perch are another, though for reasons of
political instability are perhaps left off the list. And still, depending on the chosen wording of the
challenge, even then there are potential pit falls.
By this I mean, is it to be a one hundred pound freshwater fish, or a one hundred pound fish caught in
freshwater. There is a difference. Unsure myself, I have tried fishing for both, with differing degrees of
success.
But first things first. Let's try to settle the argument about freshwater fish or fish caught in freshwater.
Wels catfish, mekong catfish, arapaima, and asiatic carp are true freshwater fish and therefore fit the
bill whichever way you look at things. But with sturgeon and stingrays, unfortunately it's far less clear
cut.
My understanding of the various sturgeon species life cycles is that at some stage this involves time
spent in saltwater, though I've also heard of land locked populations of some species with smaller
specimens tenuously managing to hang on and survive.
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