A celebrity angler was nearly dragged to his watery grave by a record-breaking catfish.
Fishing star Jakub Vágner caught the whopping 8.8ft long fish in his local reservoir.
The extreme angler, who presents the TV show ‘Fish Warrior’ on the National Geographic Channel, battled with the catfish for nearly an hour.
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At one point, the freshwater beast bit the TV star’s hand and forced him into the water.
The encounter took place at the Vranov Dam in the southern Czech Republic.
Jakub set a new national record, smashing his previous catch from 12 months ago.
The 43-year-old angler explained: “At 2.68 metres in length, it’s four centimetres longer than the one I caught last year.
“This is one of the biggest catfish I’ve ever seen in Europe.”
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He told What’s The Jam: “Has a catfish ever pulled me out of a belly boat?
“Not until yesterday.
“Actually, not even yesterday – but I did end up in the water.
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“Now I can laugh about it. But honestly, it could’ve ended very differently.”
He explained: “I was sitting in my belly boat, holding a beautiful old warrior from the Vranov Reservoir in my hands.
“I was unhooking him and estimating the fish to be easily around 250 centimetres long.
“I had one hand on the catfish, and I used the other to dial my long-time friend Pepa.
“But the catfish clearly didn’t feel like waiting.
“A powerful bite to my gloveless hand, a quick roll, and he was gone, somewhere under the boat.
“Panic hit me in the eyes, and I had to decide in a split second.
“I dove in after him.
“I had waders on, fins, and eight metres of water below me.
“I felt his disappearing tail, and I kicked hard to reach his head and shove my arm back into his mouth.
“Luckily, the catfish helped out; he clamped down on my arm immediately.
“So in a way, he caught me.
“My waders were filled with water and my phone was still in hand, but somehow I managed to kick my way to the surface, grab the boat, and after another 15 metres or so, finally reach the shore.”
He added: “But please, no one try to repeat this, it could’ve ended a lot worse.”
Vágner called it the “toughest fight I’ve ever had with a catfish in the Czech Republic”.
He also said that he released the monster fish back into the water after posing for a few snaps with it.
One fan joked: “Final Boss.”
Ruwen said: “Crazy story, I can see it all in my head… but what a majestic giant!”
Lukas added: “Jakub, legends will be written about you one day.”
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