Onder Zeeniveau

>From the land of my mother:

By Stephen Regenold
Updated: 4:53 p.m. ET Oct. 1, 2007

Deep in the jungles of Suriname, on a wild bend of the Courantyne River, Larry Dahlberg hooked a literal monster beneath his boat. “It hit like a freight train — WHAM! — and I pulled for all my life,” said Dahlberg, the 57-year-old host of television’s “The Hunt for Big Fish.”

What ensued was the greatest fish battle of Dahlberg’s career, a 12-minute tug-of-war against a catfish nearly nine feet long and as big around as a barrel. It shot upstream, spinning Dahlberg’s boat, towing the crew and loaded craft several meters against the current. “I wasn’t sure what was down there,” Dahlberg said.

When he finally landed the beast — a 396-pound giant catfish — the fight was far from over. Dahlberg’s partner, attempting to steady the flailing creature, suffered a dislocated shoulder at the shake of the fish’s head. “Everyone just screamed “Oh my God!” Dahlberg said.