A viral video has captured an epic tussle between a snake and a large catfish in the shallows of the Colorado River.

The Blotched water snake took on the fish despite it appearing far too big for the serpent to swallow.

The incredible footage was posted on YouTube by Bruce Burns who filmed the battle develop at his feet near Bastrop, Texas.

Before the start of the video Bruce and his party of fishermen had pulled up on the shore of the river to film the fight, reports the Daily Mail.

The cameraman then said: ‘That’s a catfish in his mouth I don’t know why he thinks he is going to eat that but holy cr**!’

The snake had the middle of the catfish locked in tight with its fangs.

The reptile looked like it was trying to take the fish out of the water to suffocate it.

All the while the group of fishermen watched on in amazement.

They questioned whether the snake would be able to swallow such a large fish.  

But the video then cut out before it is clear whether the snake was finally victorious.

The YouTube video, posted last year, has recently been trending online.