The largest river fish in Russia
Catfish
The largest freshwater fish or river monsters are not deprived of their presence in Russian freshwater reservoirs, which include large rivers and reservoirs. And the conventional pedestal in the hierarchical table of such giant fish is headed, of course, by the catfish.
The largest specimens of catfish are, of course, real monsters that attack all living things, sometimes not disdaining carrion, although catfish are predominantly real predators and hunters, attacking fish, small animals and birds. Willingly eats catfish and frogs. Apparently, cases of these fish feeding on drowned animals and dead fish are mostly associated with seasonal or climatic disruptions, which have recently become frequent and disrupt the usual weather conditions. And this, in turn, affects the timing of fish reproduction and other underwater laws, which often creates poor conditions for fattening catfish. In addition, discharges of subsoil water and runoff from enterprises kill underwater fauna, which negatively affects the reproduction and life of mollusks. And catfish very willingly eat various bivalve mollusks such as toothless mollusks and pearl barley.
The largest fish in Russia - catfish - have terrible strength, impressive size and greed, which often borders on recklessness. In the literature, cases of catfish attacks even on humans were described, which served to create legends and literary works, which quite harshly and with dreary monstrous realism described the hunt of catfish for children who were on rafts where their mothers washed clothes. It was as if they were licking the catfish of children from rafts. Then there was a merciless hunt for these monsters. Children were found or not found in the stomachs of predators, but all large fish were completely destroyed. There are descriptions, it seems, from V.K. Arsentyev, cases of attacks by huge catfish on bears fishing in the shallows. This seemingly fairy tale, meanwhile, could well have taken place, given the size of the catfish and its strength in its natural environment, while a bear, even the strongest, loses its advantage in water, especially if the river has a strong current. There are also cases described when a catfish tried to drag an adult under water by grabbing his leg. It was a villager and luckily for him, he had a sickle in his hands, with which he fought off the catfish. And many such cases have been described, however, similar attacks by predators date back to earlier centuries of Russian history, when catfish reached a weight of 400 kilograms and a size of up to 5 meters. Large Russian catfish fit into the category of the largest river fish in the world.
But nowadays, catfish weighing 30 kilograms are considered large prey, and specimens weighing 50-100 kilograms are already called trophy fish. And you don’t come across such fish very often, if not rarely. Even more rare are catfish weighing more than 200-250 kg, but, according to huntsmen, such fish are still found in the Volga waters. In Russia, the places where trophy catfish are caught are the deep channels and eriks of the Lower Volga, as well as the main Volga channel with deep snags and steep bottom reliefs.
There is something mystical in the appearance of this large scaleless fish with a large head and a huge mouth, where numerous sharp teeth in the form of a brush are visible. Two long whiskers flutter in the water above the mouth, and four more antennae are visible under the lower jaw. And among this powerful composition of the appearance of an underwater monster, the small eyes somehow look ridiculous... It seems at first glance that these eyes are kind, like in fairy tales with the mention of “catfish” and other characters. But this is only at first glance. There is merciless rage in the eyes of the catfish. The head of a catfish is the main and largest part of the fish’s “figure”. Everything else is occupied by a long tail, wriggling like a snake, and a sometimes white marbled belly. The back of the catfish casts blued steel.
Photos of the largest river fish often show catfish. And this is most likely connected with the same question: do real cannibal catfish exist in reality? These huge fish are too mysterious and there are so many fables about them. But there is still evidence of catfish attacks on people in our time, given that giant individuals are still found. According to US zoology specialist David Wheeler, there are catfish weighing half a ton and measuring more than six meters. Such facts are given in his book about catfish of unprecedented sizes that still live in large bodies of water.
And in our time, catfish attacks on animals occur, the victims of which are usually pets and young cows, sheep, goats, as well as adults. People also became targets of attacks by underwater predators, and most often these were children. In the middle of the summer of 1982, researchers and rangers of the Khopyorsky Nature Reserve witnessed a catfish attack on a young deer and its death when a huge fish pulled it under water. Bears crossing the river also became victims of catfish. This is still talked about in the Siberian region.
So, the largest freshwater fish is the catfish? Among other things, and a cannibal? Quite possible. Here are some more facts, moreover, from very recent history. This happened in the Voronezh region at the end of the summer season, in the 90s. Near the village of Kulakovo, a boy and a woman became victims of an attack by a huge killer catfish. They swam in the evening in hunting areas of man-eating catfish.
Similar cases of people disappearing in the evening were recorded in China at a large reservoir. People went swimming and did not return from the water. The mystery of their disappearances was solved when a giant catfish measuring three meters in size was caught with human remains in its stomach. One head of this catfish was a meter in size.
It is difficult to judge whether this is true or not, but according to some sources, a five-meter catfish was found on the side of the vessel in a tugboat that sank on the river, which had made a hole in the hull. In the stomach of the monster, the remains of three Polish tourists were found, who, after the disaster with the tugboat, transferred to a small rescue vessel, but never made it to the shore. It was on the Dnieper.
Beluga
The list that includes the largest freshwater fish or river monsters should include the beluga. It would, of course, be in first place in size among the fish of Russia. But this huge fish is not a permanent and typical river inhabitant, since it is a migratory fish species and enters rivers only to spawn. Meanwhile, in the local history museum of the Republic of Mari El, among the exhibits there is a beluga weighing a ton, once caught in the Volga. But this is not the limit of the weight and size of the beluga. According to unspecified and unofficial data, not so long ago individuals weighing up to 2 tons and up to 7-8 meters in length were encountered. Confirmed data indicate the capture of the largest specimen of this fish, weighing one and a half tons and 4.2 meters long. Some of the largest belugas are truly long-livers, as their age can be 100 years.
The largest river fish in Russia, although they do not constantly live in rivers, nevertheless spend a very large part of their lives there. This is due to the characteristics of reproduction. Being inhabitants of the Caspian, Black, Azov and, according to some information, the Adriatic seas, belugas come to spawn mostly in the Volga, as well as in the rivers: Ural, Terek and Kura. But if earlier these powerful and ancient fossil fish rose quite high along the Volga, to the middle reaches and higher, then with the emergence of the Volga cascade of dams and hydroelectric stations, the rise of the beluga stopped, at least to the previous levels.
The fish passages didn't help either. In addition, some dams either did not have them at all or did not work at full capacity. For example, at the Cheboksary hydroelectric power station in the first years, instead of fish passage structures, only an 8 cm grid was installed, on which passing large fish were cut and died, falling to the bottom under the release of water from the dam.
The largest river fish in the world hardly reached the size of the Russian beluga, at least those individuals that entered our rivers in the 18th and 19th centuries. Meanwhile, in our time, these valuable sturgeon fish, which once supplied a lot of tasty meat and delicious black caviar, are on the verge of extinction, despite the bans. And in the good old days, even a simple peasant could afford to taste the delicious beluga meat and the same delicious black caviar, and in large quantities. This happened one fine day in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-one, when a strong wind from the shore unexpectedly and quickly drove water from the bay of the Azov Sea near Taganrog. In a shallow puddle in the bay, this lucky guy found a beluga weighing 20 pounds (327 kg). There was almost 50 kilograms of black caviar in it. This is where you could eat plenty of real fish and black caviar, even with a tablespoon, simply!..
Siberian taimen
The largest freshwater fish in Russia are also found in Siberian rivers. And the largest and most beautiful predator of icy waters is taimen. This is the most ancient fish of all salmonids, since taimen lived about 18 million years ago. Most species and subspecies of taimen, including lenok and char, are predominantly freshwater, with the exception of the Sakhalin taimen, which at certain times adheres to river mouths and the desalinated part of the sea.
In our country, taimen live in the rivers of Siberia, as well as in the rivers of the Amur basin. These powerful and incredibly beautiful fish are the object of sport fishing according to the “catch and release” principle. This strict principle is a vital necessity, since the Siberian taimen is already an endangered fish species.
Among Russian fish, taimen stand out for their size and weight. The largest specimens recently reached a weight of a hundredweight and a length of two meters and a hook. Since 1993, the record has been held for the largest taimen caught on sports gear and released back into the waters of the river. The weight of this trophy fish was 41.95 kg. However, no, no, and information will get through, they say, they caught a taimen weighing 50 kg, or even 80 kilograms, somewhere in a mountain river. In a word, taimen is the largest freshwater fish in our country beyond the Ural ridge.
Taimen are true predators, capable of swallowing large fish. Outwardly, this large fish looks like a living torpedo, for which strong currents and rapids of mountain rivers are no obstacle. The usual coloring of taimen consists of brown tones on the back and silver on the sides with dark spots. During the mating season, these fish become even more beautiful. They are noticeable and bright thanks to their red, almost orange pelvic fins, as well as the juicy red with a copper tint – the anal and caudal fins.
The element of taimen is icy mountain rivers and similar lakes. Hunting places are holes immediately beyond the rapids, where tired small fish roll down and become prey for a predator. Taimen also stay in small groups and in places with an uneven bottom on stretches and even in river bays. If only there was depth in such a bay.
Pike
The category of the largest freshwater fish also includes pike. According to Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneev, pike weighing 48-64 kg were found not so long ago in northern and Siberian rivers. And predators weighing 100 pounds and weighing 20 kg are not particularly rare in Russian waters, especially in the expanses of the Volga reservoirs. The pike caught during the reign of the German Emperor Barbarossa, which was 5.7 meters long and weighed 140 kg, is considered legendary. She was ringed and thrown into the lake. The pike lived for more than 200 years in this lake and, when caught, was whitish in color, as if faded with age. The skeleton and ring of this pike are still kept in one of the museums in Germany. True, there are doubts about the authenticity of these artifacts, since the maximum age of pike is estimated by leading ichthyologists at 33 years.
Even in forest peat lakes there were giant pikes. The 30-kilogram pikes of Lake Luzhier were written about in the pre-war newspapers of the Mari Volga region. Large in area, but only 2-3 meters deep, this peat interdune lake still remains a haven for large pike. The lake's tenants, who set themselves the goal of completely catching predators and introducing cultivated fish species, failed to cope with this task. The lake seemed to have a second bottom where predators were hiding. And in the process of seine fishing, fishermen saw giant fish exiting and jumping through the net, and also observed live logs in shallow areas. Log pikes came out onto the shallows to escape the net. And the fishermen simply did not dare to catch them, despite the reach of the prey. A similar giant pike, which can be judged not only by descriptions and stories, was caught in Lake Ilmen. She weighed 34 kilograms. And the authenticity of the capture of a large predator is confirmed by a black and white photograph, which can easily be attributed to the series - photographs of the largest river fish.
Predators weighing 12-16 kg even now often become prey for winter pike fishermen.
Carp and carp
According to the information presented in the books of L.P. Sabaneeva, carp and its cultivated variety, carp, were in ancient times truly gigantic in size and weight. The record holder of that time can be called a carp weighing more than three pounds, or more precisely, 55.6 kg. This fish was caught with hooks, gear that is now considered poaching. There were rumors of a 68.5 kg carp caught in a net. Nowadays, these fish also come in large sizes and heavy weights. At least, carp weighing 20-30 kg are considered not very rare prey, especially in the lower reaches of the Volga, and are called trophy fish that every angler dreams of catching.
These powerful and large fish, encased in strong silver-golden scales, are also included in the category of the largest freshwater fish, only among the relatively peaceful underwater inhabitants. Why is it conditional? Any, even the most herbivorous and peaceful-looking fish, having reached a certain age and size, becomes to some extent a predator and is not averse to swallowing fry.
In addition to the Volga delta, large carp are found in paid reservoirs, where, with proper feeding and regulated fishing, they quickly reach large sizes and weights, since the peculiarity of these fish is their rapid growth.
Beluga
A large representative of the sturgeon family. The body length of this fish reaches 4.2 m, but what is more surprising is its weight, which approaches 1.5 tons. Unofficial data regarding its size seems simply incredible, because some sources talk about the existence of 9-meter belugas weighing about 2 tons The freshwater giantess lives in the Azov, Black and Caspian seas, and swims into rivers to spawn. This fish species, unfortunately, is on the verge of extinction, so it was included in the IUCN Red List.
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The largest river fish in the world
The largest freshwater fish or river monsters are also widely represented in the rivers of other continents. Moreover, some of them are related to our Russian predators, for example, the American musky pike. It is also called the giant pike.
musky pike
The Muskinong is almost no different in appearance from our pike, but in size this predator is comparable to our pikes of previous centuries and long ago. External differences can only be found by a specialist or a person who knows these differences in advance. Firstly, the musky has no scales on the lower part of the gill covers and the edges of the caudal fin are sharper than those of our common pike. The muskie is distinguished by the sensory points that the lower jaw of the fish has. This pike has more of them than the Russian predator, most often over seven. Pike in our waters have no more than six. The color and stripes that turn into spots often coincide, especially if the conditions, that is, when the color of the water and soil also coincide in the American predator with the living conditions of our pikes.
Maskinongs can be up to 1.8 meters long and sometimes weigh 30-32 kg. But most often fishermen come across them with sports gear, so to speak, in the middle weight categories - 2.5 m long and weighing 16 kg.
Like our pikes, muskies prefer river bays with weak currents or standing water. The hunting objects of these predatory fish are also similar. Like the pikes of our rivers and lakes, muskellunges hunt fish and all living things that fit into their mouths: chicks, birds, frogs, crayfish, snakes, mice, muskrats.
The armored pike is also a relative of the pikes mentioned above, but rather a distant relative. It is also a serious fish that falls under the definition of being the largest freshwater fish.
Bull shark
But this is a real monster, which cannot be called a good fish, because, like all sharks, this predator is a real aggressor. The bull shark is found both in the vast expanses of the ocean and in the coastal zone. But this same shark can also be found in the most ordinary freshwater body of water: a river or even a stream, as long as the depth of this stream allows this powerful fish, which often reaches a size of more than 2.5 meters and a weight of 312 kilograms, to accommodate it. The insidious feature of such a shark is that it often stays in the shallow coastal waters of beaches and can be dangerous, as it is an aggressive and ruthless predator. This shark easily falls into the category of one of the largest fish in the world and can often be found in a series of photos of the largest river fish.
White sturgeon
The white sturgeon is also a giant fish and is the largest representative of the sturgeon family in North America. Moreover, this fish can be called the largest among freshwater fish of this continent. The largest individuals of this species reach a length of about 4 meters and these sturgeons weigh almost half a ton. These fish also differ in their life expectancy, which is 100 years or even more. Therefore, old fish, one can say without exaggeration, have seen a lot in their lifetime.
Nile perch
This is another relative of our domestic fish, or rather, perch, familiar to all “sailors”. Only the size of the overseas brother is impressive and awe-inspiring. As the name suggests, this “perch,” reaching a length of 1.8 meters and a weight of more than 180 kg, lives in the always muddy Nile River, and also in the rivers of Niger, Congo, and Senegal. Like our perches, the Nile perch has yellow eyes with black pupils. But the coloring of this perch is somewhat different, without stripes, instead of which the sides shine with silver with some bluish tints, which makes this seasoned predator very beautiful.
Alligator garfish
The largest river fish in the world are represented by another species that is truly a monster. This is an alligator garfish. The appearance of this monster is almost a copy of the alligator crocodile, at least that's what the head of the fish looks like. But, despite such a picturesque and fiercely aggressive appearance, these fish have never attacked people before, at least no such information has been received. These inhabitants of the water depths are also not offended by their size. Garfish alligators can weigh up to 140 kilograms with a length of 3 meters.
Arapaima gigantea
This is a fish that really deserves to be on the list - the largest freshwater fish. Specimens 3 meters long and weighing more than 68 kilograms are not uncommon in the waters of the Amazon. Confirmed data speak of arapaima weighing up to 200 kg. This is a fast and furious predator that not only manages to catch up and swallow fish, but also jumps to reach birds and small animals sitting in trees.
Arapaima can live in the most impassable swamps, where the water is very poor in oxygen. But this cunning fish has adapted to breathe atmospheric air, for which it needs to rise to the surface of the reservoir at certain intervals, which are about 20 minutes. The giant arapaima is protected by very dense and strong scales, but this did not save it from extermination by local native tribes, who from time immemorial caught this fish for food. These fish are now being protected and are likely to be farmed.
Common catfish
The common catfish is a large freshwater, scaleless, bottom-dwelling fish that lives in deep rivers, deep channels, lakes and reservoirs throughout Europe and Asia. The body length of catfish can reach 5 m, weight - 100 kg. There is a lot of information about giant catfish reaching 250–300 kg, but there is no documentary evidence of the existence of such catfish. It is a typical predator and feeds on fish, large benthic invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, waterfowl, small mammals and even relatives. Like the pike, the catfish is an excellent orderly for reservoirs; it eats sick and weakened fish. Cases of attacks on people have also been described.
Burbot
The largest representative of the species was caught in Siberia in 1967. Its weight was 30 kg and its length was 120 cm. Other cases were also recorded. 1985, Lake Onega, a burbot weighing 16 kg was caught. 1910, Lake Ladoga, a fish weighing 10 kg was caught. Catching such large burbot is an incredible success, because their average weight is 3-4 kg.
Burbot is a northern fish. It loves cold water, so it rarely appears in the south. Lives in Siberian rivers and Lake Baikal. Also found in northern Europe: Finland, the Baltic states, and the Leningrad region.
