Catfish in the Rhône

Rémi Masson · Issue 58, Jan/Feb 2011 · pp. 43–45

Products mentioned: Canon G10, Canon housing

Fishermen accuse them of eating all the fish, attacking ducks and even swimming dogs. I was very sceptical but, in reality we know so little about them. Because of its snake-like form or because they can easily exceed two meters in length, wels catfish have always had a reputation as a monster in France. In addition its habitat of turbid water accentuates the mystery making them mythical legends. Because of their reputation, I wanted to learn more about this mysterious creature so I decided to try to meet him in the hot water (everything is relative) of the Lakes in Provence. Indeed, into several lakes, like the lake of Saint Cassien in the Var, very famous for its numerous carp,many of which weight several tens of kilos. Here I have, in the past, seen several wels catfish including one splendid albino which was 1m50 long and I was delighted to be able to swim with an enormous specimen o…