Angling history was made on the 18th June with the launch of the first ever World Catfish competition.

The event will be staged on the River Ebro in Spain in June 2011 and has the backing of American angling giants “Pure Fishing”. The Berkley brand, which is synonymous with the huge Bass fishing events in the USA, has been put forward as title sponsors. Pascal Grillot, European Marketing Director for Pure Fishing, said “We are looking forward to being involved in this event. As a company we are expanding our product range to include specialist Cat fishing equipment and this was a natural fit for us. An important factor was that this event represents “Best practice angling” respecting nature, the environment and fish welfare”.
Attending the launch were distinguished and invited guests, a huge number of media including International specialist angling, local and regional, radio and TV. The launch even included a 20 minute section which was broadcast live; such was the importance and interest. The event was officially declared open by the Mayor of Chiprana after he entered the password to activate the tournament website www.worldcatfishclassic.com
Spain won the host nation rights against strong competition from France and Italy and the event founder and tournament organiser said “We are delighted to be staging the inaugural event in Spain. The River Ebro is famous for its huge numbers of big catfish and I am certain that all anglers will really enjoy the experience of competing in this beautiful setting. The event has been fully embraced by the local area and the opening ceremony will commence with a flag parade through the streets led by a band. This will be followed by a fiesta and that is certainly something that the Spanish know how to do really well. I am very proud that following 12 years of successfully running the World Carp Classic this new event is being added to our tournament portfolio”
81 pairs of the world’s best anglers will battle it out for the inaugural title of Berkley World Catfish Classic Champions and claim a share of the £35,000 prize table. Competitors will fish a different location each day from 09.00 to 18.00 over the three days. Each evening everybody will congregate for that day’s results announcement of the and the crowning of the captor of the biggest catfish of the day as “king cat”. This will be followed by a fiesta meal for 500 which will include traditional Spanish dishes such as a paella cooked in a huge pan over a log fire.
Immediately following the launch the places, which are limited per country to ensure a truly international field, were being snapped up. Places are in such high demand that already in some countries there are going to be qualifying events. If the World Carp Classic is anything to go by this is one not to be missed.
For more information about the World Catfish Classic, go to www.worldcatfishclassic.com