An angler on an overnight tuna and swordfish charter out of Narragansett, Rhode Island, caught the largest mahi-mahi the state has ever seen in late August. Fishing with Maridee Charters, angler Karl Mohr, of New York, battled the 37.56-pound, 59-inch dolphinfish to the gaff.

“We were pumped. I’ve never seen one that big,” said AJ Dangelo, who was running the deck for his father, Capt. Andy Dangelo. “It’s not typical to see mahi in our area over 10 pounds. You see a few big ones every year, but nothing that big.”

Juvenile mahi move into the waters off New England with warm Gulf Stream currents in summer. They congregate around “high flyers,” which are tall buoys with radar reflectors to help lobstermen find their pots. The mahi are a popular plan-B target when the tuna fishing is slow.

Doubled Up on Big Mahi

During Mohr’s trip, Capt. Dangelo had taken them about 85 miles offshore to an area known as Fishtails. They were trolling over about 700 feet of water, right on the north edge of Block Canyon.

AJ said Capt. Andy was pushing to see how close he could pull his spread to the buoys when they doubled up on mahi.

“The first one we got to the boat was a nice cow, maybe 15 pounds,” AJ said. “And I told the angler it was a good fish. I didn’t think the other one we had on was a mahi, because it wasn’t coming in like one.”

When AJ gaffed the second fish and brought it over the rail, he knew they had caught something special. The big mahi should replace a record that has stood for nearly 30 years. Although Rhode Island doesn’t officially recognize dolphinfish for state records, it does list a 32-pound, 4-ounce, 58.5-inch mahi caught in 1995 as a “Notable Catch.”

With this fish, AJ thinks he’s found a lucky combination for Meridee. Two years ago, Mohr caught a giant wahoo that would have been a record if they had documented it properly. The big wahoo and the record mahi both came on the same Sterling Tackle spreader bar—same lure, same angler.

Mohr’s wahoo weighed 91 pounds, “with the guts out,” AJ said. Also listed as a “Notable Catch,” the largest Rhode Island wahoo on record was caught in 1998 and weighed 80 pounds.

In case you’re curious about what an overnight trip out of Rhode Island looks like, AJ said they troll for yellowfin and big eye tuna during the day and spend the night swordfishing.

“It’s a blast,” he said. “They look like zombies when they get back to the dock. They’re all delirious. People try to get some sleep here and there, but everyone’s so excited that it’s hard to sleep.”

The post Huge Mahi Tops 30-Year-Old Record appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

A jack commonly caught in Costa Rica and the Gulf of Mexico was recently landed off the coast of North Carolina. Officials at the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries established a new state record for the species: an Almaco Jack (Seriola rivoliana).  

Angler Matt Frattasio, of Massachusetts, caught the 26-pound, 15.6-ounce fast-growing fish near the D Wreck off Morehead City in early November. He was aboard Riptide Charters fishing in 80 feet of water, baiting with a live menhaden on 50-pound gear. There was no previous state record in North Carolina for almacos.

Frattasio’s fish measured 36.4 inches (fork length) and had a 26-inch girth. The fish was weighed and identified by fisheries staff at the Division of Marine Fisheries Headquarters in Morehead City. Almaco jacks are part of the Seriola genus (amberjacks) — not surprisingly, they look similar to an amberjack.

Almaco Jack or Amberjack?

Anglers can have a tough time differentiating the two. Here’s the trick: Almacos are deeper-bodied and less elongated than amberjacks. Also, check the dorsal fins. That second dorsal is higher than the first dorsal on amberjack, but it’s nearly twice as tall as the first dorsal on almaco jacks.

Record Almaco Jack Catches

In Georgia, the current state record almaco is just over 7 pounds, while Florida’s state record tops out at 35 pounds, 9 ounces. The all-tackle world record stands tall at 132 pounds, caught in 1964 in La Paz, Baja California, Mexico. Most IGFA men’s line-class records for the species hail from Costa Rica and Panama.

Still, some almaco jack world records sit completely vacant. Part of that might be because they’re misidentified or possibly it’s that anglers fast-track the great-tasting fish straight into the cooler. At least five women’s line-class records are empty, most of them for fly tackle. The All-Tackle Length fly and junior records are also wide open.

For other instances of warm-water fish catches in states farther north, check out Connecticut’s tarpon, Maryland’s barracuda, New Jersey’s king mackerel and Washington’s dorado.

The post A New Record for North Carolina appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Update: Art Weston can add to his already impressive list of records with a massive 283-pound alligator gar he caught while fishing in Sam Rayburn Lake, Texas on September 2, 2023. The giant gar overtakes his previous best of 251 pounds, and if approved will potentially set both the IGFA All-Tackle and IGFA Men’s 6-pound Line Class World Records for the species. Weston was once again fishing with Capt. Kirk Kirkland aboard the Garship Enterprise when the big gar hit, and gave him an incredible 2-hour and 45-minute battle before getting the fish to the scale. Like most of Weston’s records, this gar was weighed on a certified scale and released. The IGFA states this record is currently pending and under review.

(Original article continues below.)

Even for an expert in catching world-record fish, this one was special: a freshwater specimen nearly 8 feet long from a river in Texas.

Art Weston has made a specialty of setting International Game Fish Association records. In fact, the massive alligator gar was one of six potential IGFA record fish Weston caught on a recent trip to the Trinity River, including a 142-pound alligator gar on 50-pound test, and a 191-pounder on 130-pound line.

He caught the big fish – 7.5 feet long and 251 pounds – on 80-pound braid. “It was easier to catch than the 102-pound fish on 2-pound line, I can tell you that,” which he did Oct. 1, 2022, he said.

A Gar Fishing Record Setter

Weston, who lives in Union, Kentucky, and manages the artificial intelligence department for a bank, already has a long list of IGFA records, including six that are pending. If they and his most recent submissions are all certified, his total will be 46. And counting.

“I think probably record fish are caught every day, but people don’t know that they’re records, or know the rules for submitting them,” he told Sport Fishing magazine.

Weston is obviously a serious angler, and fishes where the big fish are, including Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil. He also knows the requirements for certifying a catch and has the gear and equipment to satisfy them. For example, while big alligator gar are caught on the Trinity River all the time, most of them are caught on baited treble hooks — and that’s against the IGFA rules. Weston fishes for them with J hooks.

Along with knowing the IGFA rules inside out, he’s made a hobby of assessing things like line breaking strength, hook strength, the effects of abrasion. “I actually have a digital force gauge in my house,” he said. “I make hundreds and hundreds of leaders every year. All of that I did to have an advantage in record hunting.”

Weston even shares his know-how on his YouTube channel, Analytic Angling.

A Surprise Bite from a Record Gar

The big gar took a piece of carp on the Trinity on April 16. Weston was fishing from shore with Capt. Kirk Kirkland, who’s landed thousands of the big fish as a commercial fisherman and a guide. The fish never set off the rod’s alarm; Weston had only picked up the rod to re-cast when he discovered he had hooked up.

You don’t fight a fish like that standing on the bank. Weston and Capt. Kirk boarded the Garfish Enterprise, Kirkland’s custom-built, flat-bottomed Weldbilt, and pursued the big gal on the river. The fight was a relatively brief 25 minutes. Kirkland saw the fish first. “He just yelled out, ‘That’s the one, that’s the one you want,’” Weston recalled. “I’m like, ‘Is it big?” and he’s like, ‘it’s huge.’”

They both thought they might have caught an actual alligator, which are common in the area. “It pulled the boat in circles,” Weston said. The gar surfaced, Kirkland got a lasso around it (permitted by IGFA), and they towed it to shore, hauled it up to the game tripod on the bank, weighed and measured it, and released it back to the river.

“It had a lot of fight left in it,” Weston said. “It just happened to surface and Kirk was fast enough to get the lasso around it. We were very fortunate to land it fast. It wasn’t out of the water for more than five minutes, and they’re air breathers. It was released alive and well with no issues.”

The current IGFA 80-pound-test record for alligator gar is 132 pounds, set by Jennifer Schall in the same river in 2021. The all-tackle IGFA record for alligator gar is 279 pounds, set way back in 1951.

Careful Selection Leads to More Records

Not all of Weston’s records are enormous fish. He picks his battles, seeking species that aren’t well represented on the IGFA lists. For example, the IGFA recently determined that Alabama bass were misclassified and wiped out all the records. The fish in question is now called spotted bass. On the April trip, Weston caught one on 2-pound line, one on 4-pound, and one for its length, and expects them all to be IGFA records, at least for a while. “I don’t mind being the first one,” he said.

Another example: two of his teenage kids caught IGFA records a mile from their house. A nearby pond had been stocked with hybrid striped bass, which are also known as wipers, but which the IGFA calls whiterock bass. No one had submitted a catch for the species. Emery and Elyse Weston each caught two and entered the record books.

All of which goes to show there are opportunities for recognition. “You actually have a better chance than most people think, depending on what you’re trying to catch,” Weston said.

The post Massive Gar Smashes Record appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Ask Beau Leaman about beginner’s luck. The Santa Clarita, California, salesman was on his first fishing trip when he caught a potential world-record-breaking fish. Even more amazing, Leaman’s catch was of an extremely rare fish called an opah (Lampris guttatus). “It really was a blessing,” Leaman says.

Leaman was on an overnight tuna trip on the headboat Horizon out of San Diego, California. “I was with a group from church and some friends,” Leaman explains. Although this was Leaman’s first time on the ocean, he had experience trout fishing in lakes and streams. Leaman laughs, “I thought we were going to find some fish and cast spinning rods.”

Once he was on the boat, it didn’t take long for Leaman to realize he wasn’t in Kansas anymore. “I have never tried to sleep on a boat,” he starts. The rolly, noisy ride had Leaman tossing and turning. Up on deck, the scene was equally unsettling. 

The crowd was a mixture of families and first-time anglers, along with grizzled veterans you’d expect to see on a party boat. “There were guys with tattoos of fish and hooks,” Leaman marvels. He recalls one angler showed him pictures of a 300-pound tuna.

Leaman describes another angler pacing back and forth, staring at the ocean all night. “Holy cow, what kind of environment am I getting myself into?” he remembers.

When the boat stopped, Leaman had more surprises. “I didn’t know we were fishing with live bait,” he says. Leaman rented two rods: a lighter rod for live bait and a heavier rod for deep jigging. “The mates showed us how to hook the live bait and people in our group had experience,” Leaman says.

Still, Leaman spent a lot of time tangled with other anglers. At one point, he lost track of his fishing rod. “I was searching all over the boat looking for my rod.” Eventually he found his rod and marked it with a yellow ribbon. By late afternoon, the highlight of the day was a bonito Leaman hooked with another angler. “Nothing much was going on,” he says.

When the captain announced he was marking fish 30 feet below the boat, experienced anglers grabbed the light live-bait rods. Leaman decided to use his heavier jigging rod. “I figured I would warm up by jigging a lure from 300 feet,” he explains.

Leaman watched the depth-marked line leave his reel until his lure reached 300 feet. “I felt a bonk,” Leaman remembers. When he started cranking the reel handle, he found the line was stuck. “I thought I was snagged on a rock ,” he says. Leaman knew the water was too deep for a snag, so he continued to try to turn the reel handle. 

“I didn’t want to cry wolf,” he laughs, so he continued to struggle with the reel in silence. Eventually a friend asked if everything was okay. “The line was tight, but nothing was pulling. I felt steady, heavy pressure.” 

After other anglers confirmed Leaman must be hooked to a large fish, the crew started to buzz with excitement. In a few minutes, the captain was standing next to Leaman coaching him to fight the fish. 

At one point, the fish dashed to the bow and then ran to the stern. Leaman says, “The captain took the rod and helped me weave in and out of the other anglers.” Mayhem ensued with anglers yelling and shuffling while Leaman fought his fish.

When the huge fish surfaced, the captain yelled for gaffs. Four deckhands worked together to secure the big round fish and drag it onboard. 

“I was shocked,” Leaman says. A bystander remarked the strange fish looked like something engineered by the government. An opah is shaped like an angel fish with flat, silver sides mottled with shades of red and speckled in white spots. Sometimes these fish are also called moonfish.

“The fish had a huge eye and was covered in armor,” Leaman adds. Several places on the fish showed bites from cookie-cutter sharks. Leaman reflects, “There is so much grandness in the fish; I couldn’t help thinking of God’s creativity and power.”

Back at H&M Landing, the Opah weighed 188.6 pounds. The previous world record, set by Joe Ludlow in 2014 at San Quintin, Mexico, was 180 pounds, 12 ounces. Of course, the captain’s assistance and the shark bites could be ruled violations of International Game Fish Association rules, but the opah is still the biggest recorded rod and reel catch for this species. 

Leaman laughs, “My wife asked, ‘Why couldn’t you catch a normal fish?’” Leaman’s already shared the meat with friends and he’s looking online for opah recipes.

The post Rare Opah Catch Smashes World Record appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

On the last Sunday in July, Joe Vricella and his dad, Dominic, caught a “boogeyman” swimming in New Jersey waters — a 67.45-pound king mackerel. If all the submitted paperwork goes through without a hitch, their kingfish will takeover as the new state record. Dominic Vricella’s catch outweighs the current record by more than 10 pounds — a 54-pounder, caught by Fernando Alfaiate off Cape May, in 1998.

The Vricella team encountered a mix of bad luck and good before the catch happened on July 30.

“We lost an engine while out on the bluefin grounds [around noon] and started limping home,” said Joe Vricella. “Being on one engine, I figured we’d put out a little spread, with 2 wide-trackers and 2 Clarkspoons for Spanish mackerel or bonito.”

King mackerel are not a common species in Jersey waters, hence the use of the word “boogeyman.” In fact, you barely hear of a handful caught each summer. The Vricellas truly hit it big with their unusual catch.

“At around 2 o’clock, we were about 5 miles off the beach near Manasquan Inlet and we got a knockdown on a Clarkspoon,” Vricella detailed. “The hit just about spooled our Avet MXL twice. We couldn’t back down the boat, so we put some heavy drag on him and were able to turn him.”

Vricella’s kingfish catch was even more unexpected, as it was taken on light leader — they still cannot believe they landed the fish in under 10 minutes on 30-pound leader.

“My dad was on the rod the whole time, and he saw it first and had no idea what it was until we got it up close,” added Vricella. They actually thought it was a wahoo or a tuna for awhile.

“I ran to the back, saw the fish come up, and reached out and stuck him with a gaff after we realized it was a kingfish,” said Vricella. “No joke, my first words were: ‘I don’t think we understand what just happened.'”

You can definitely say that again. New Jersey probably won’t see another king mackerel like this for another 30 years. The Vricellas weighed the kingfish at Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle, New Jersey.

The post Motor Troubles Lead to Record Catch off Jersey appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Part of the fun of fishing is not knowing what you’re going to catch — even if you’re an avid and experienced angler. Jeremiah Elliott, his brother Zach, Chandler Butler, and Trevor Burns were wrapping up an afternoon of swordfishing on Jeremiah’s Regulator 26 center console 60 miles off Morehead City, North Carolina, when they hooked something strange.

Jeremiah began retrieving the buoy line on a rod with a manual reel, only to find he had a fish on. It was not a species he recognized. It was probably a world record. And it tasted good.

Unusual Species from the Deep

Pomfrets are a deep-water fish belonging to the Bramidae family, which contains about 35 species worldwide. Though they can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, most species are somewhat rare. The bigscale pomfret, which is what Jeremiah hooked, is the largest in the family. And Jeremiah’s is as big as they come.

Pending World Record Pomfret

Heading in, the anglers called Chasin’ Tails Outdoors Bait & Tackle in Atlantic Beach, “making sure we had the scales ready at the shop as they were coming through the Beaufort inlet with a possible world record fish,” the shop reported on Facebook. “We really had no idea what they had as it was hard to hear them over the phone.”

The rod was rigged with 80-pound braid, 130-pound leader, a 10-pound weight, and an 18 inch squid. The 35.5-inch pomfret took the bait 1,700 feet down, salvaging the afternoon. “No luck on the swords,” Elliot said. That morning, the group caught three mahi and a number of bottom fish.

The paperwork is being prepared to submit Elliot’s 26-pound, 11.4-ounce bigscale pomfret to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA). The current IGFA bigscale pomfret record is 20 pounds, 10 ounces, caught by W. Gordon Davis in St. Augustine, Florida, in Oct. 2004. Along with the pending IGFA record, Elliot’s catch is also tops in North Carolina, which had no statevrecord prior to the catch.

“We’ve already cleaned it and it was delicious,” Elliot said. “Odd fish, but it tasted good.”

The post Unexpected Catch Leads to Potential Record appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The new holder of the Idaho state record for northern pike is no stranger to big fish. Thomas Francis moved west in 2005 from Boston, and “was pretty big into striper fishing back then,” he told Sport Fishing magazine.

Now settled in Post Falls, Idaho, near the Washington border, Francis has specialized in casting jumbo plugs for the local specimens. “I can’t stare at a bobber all day, and the steelhead are not big on chasing big lures,” he said. That generally leaves northern pike. Francis fishes for them as often as he can, from ice-out in the spring until it returns in the fall. “I catch 20- and 30-pound pike on the regular,” he said.

When Francis was fishing Hayden Lake on March 21, a northern attacked his 11-inch hard-plastic swimbait and ended up in the record books. The fish struck as the lure touched the bottom and buried herself, he recalled — though not for long. At one point in the intense five-minute fight, the northern flung itself into the air.

Taylor Hale, Francis’s fishing buddy, was answering nature’s call when the hookup occurred when he heard Francis say, “this fish is different.”

“I knew it was a big fish, so I zipped up my pants,” said Hale, and he went to assist in the catch.

The Idaho Fish and Game department called it “a true monster of a fish.”

The two were fishing from Hale’s 16-foot Tiderunner. Francis was using an extra heavy irod baitcasting rod with a Daiwa Tatula reel, 80-pound braid and fluorocarbon leader.

Once the fish was in the boat, the pair set out to find a scale. The one at the dock only went up to 30 pounds, but eventually they found a certified device and got an official weight of 40.76 pounds. The previous record, 40.13 pounds, was set by Kim Fleming in 2010 on nearby Lower Twin Lake.

Francis declined to say what make and model of swimbait he was using, because the company was planning an announcement in the coming days and wanted to make a splash. “I’ve been working with this bait company for a while, and they’re pretty excited,” Francis said. Meanwhile, Francis and Hale have taped an episode of Adrian Dean’s Scales N Tales podcast and will no doubt share more of their experience with the northern pike of northern Idaho.

How do they stack up against the striped bass of the East Coast? “I’d have to go with the pike,” Francis said. “Stripers are strong, but I’m into the teeth.”

The post Record Pike Caught in North Idaho appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

For most anglers, the thought of seeing their name in the International Game Fish Association’s annual World Record Game Fishes book is to dream the impossible dream. How do you beat so many amazing records, some that have stood unchallenged for decades? The short answer is: You probably don’t. But the longer answer is more complicated — and more hopeful.

Before we get to some very specific opportunities, which I’ll provide as examples, first let’s make sure we understand the IGFA’s system, since only by understanding it can you really take advantage of it.

IGFA All-Tackle Weight Records

When most of us think “world record,” the question for any species of fish then becomes: What did it weigh? Indeed, that’s always been the way most anglers most of the time have assessed their catches and those of others. Informally, anglers weigh their catches for bragging rights, or if they just guesstimate the size of their catch, they do so in pounds (or kilograms in many regions) more often than inches. Tournaments require fish to be weighed. And so too does the IGFA, at least for all-tackle world records.

That — weight of the fish — is but one category of world record in the IGFA system. But it’s a big one. All-tackle records by weight is the original and oldest category, and one the association takes seriously. Many’s the world-record catch that wasn’t — a fish large enough to beat an existing record — when, after the fact, the angler learned that the scale on which his or her catch was weighed couldn’t be certified.

The vast majority of these world records are no longer alive when they’re weighed. One reason stems from the extent to which the IGFA takes all-tackle weight records seriously: Fish must be weighed on land or a stationary platform attached to land. The reasoning is simple enough and has to do with the difficulties of reading a handheld scale in a boat bouncing in a chop. Sometimes ounces matter, particularly for example when a contender is challenging a long-standing record by 12 or 14 ounces.

As you might guess, this prestigious category can be the most difficult one to break into. But not necessarily.

Any — yes, any — species of fish that can be caught legitimately on hook and line and that weighs at least one pound can become part of the IGFA’s record-keeping system. A look through the IGFA’s all-tackle-record list reveals a huge number of species of fish from all over the world, fresh and salt, of catches approved as world records. In cases of more obscure species, often just one angler submitted a single record application, and once approved, voila: he or she is in the record book (as is that species).

Are all the species of fish one could catch already established as records? Hardly. Consider fish you catch in your area, especially any that are not considered primary gamefish, and check to see if they are in the IGFA’s list of records. There are still fish being caught out there that no angler has ever bothered to enter for a world record. But even if a species is already in the book, it may be pretty easily beatable. Again, look at species less popular as game fish — popular fish like largemouth bass or redfish will be tough, but less-targeted species present opportunities. Here are just three examples of species that could qualify you to be in the world-record book:

Lesser Amberjack (Seriola fasciata)

 A common catch in temperate and tropical waters of the Western Atlantic, there is, at the time of this writing, NO all-tackle world record for this species. The challenge is proper identification: Lesser and greater amberjacks resemble each other closely enough that most anglers would assume they caught “an amberjack” (meaning the more common greater AJ, Seriola dumerili) when in fact they’re holding a lesser amberjack. But the easy-to-count spines in the first dorsal tell the story, with the greater AJ having seven dorsal spines and the lesser AJ having eight. Also the supramaxilla — the bone that extends from the upper jaw to just under the eye — is straight on top in the lesser, but angles sharply upward under the eye in the greater. Compare images of greater versus lesser. Attainable goal: Catch a lesser AJ of at least 5 pounds or so and get your name in the world-record book.

Devil Firefish (Pterois miles)

Unfortunately, this species of lionfish is also quite common these days in the Western Atlantic as well as its native Indo-Pacific Ocean. The situation mirrors that of the amberjacks, above. The more abundant red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is already well established in the IGFA world-record system, but no one has entered a devil firefish. Here too, it’s a matter of counting (carefully!) dorsal fin rays (11 in the red, 10 in the firefish) and anal fin rays (seven in the red and six in the firefish). Keep in mind that lionfish don’t get huge, but catching a P. miles of just a pound or more should put you in the world-record book.

American Conger Eel (Conger oceanicus)

For this species, there is already a world record. In fact, it’s been in the books since 2002 when caught in Cape May Harbor. But despair not: Records show that American congers — common along most of the U.S. Atlantic coast — grow to nearly 90 pounds. The world record is a mere 15 pounds. This is, some might say, a record waiting to be beaten.

Do not, by the way, confuse the American conger with the larger conger (Conger conger) which is caught in the eastern Atlantic and can grow much larger; the all-tackle record for this species, a 133-pound fish, has held since it was caught in 1995 in the U.K.

IGFA Line-Class Fishing Records

The IGFA has deemed 191 species worthy of inclusion in its line-class record-keeping system. These species offer a shot at many records: For saltwater species, each includes a men’s and women’s category, and each of those offer separate line-class records for 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, 12-, 16- and 20-pound test, and for larger species add, 30-, 50-, 80- and 130-pound-test classes. That’s up to 22 different records for each species. Add to that tippet-class records for fly fishers. In both men’s and women’s divisions there are 7 tippet-strength classes from 2- to 20-pound. Another 14 record possibilities. Finally, there are also male and female Smallfry (to age 10) and Junior (11-16) world records. In other words, for a given species in the IGFA’s line-class system, there are many ways to set a record.

Despite so many opportunities, for most game fish, anglers have filled line classes with catches that vary from tough (to beat) to rock-solid. Not a lot of low-hanging fruit left. But one good bet is to check out species recently added to the line-class list since at the outset all classes are vacant. True, they begin to fill up, but that can take a while, depending upon species.

Line class records for two species added last year remain mostly empty. That condition will persist longer since they’re game fish of remote areas. The snubnose pompano (Trachinotus blochii) is a gorgeous permit with golden fins that lives in the Indo Pacific. While a few tippet classes have been filled, all line classes remain vacant at the time of this writing. Another Indo Pacific game fish, the elusive, streamlined milkfish (Chanos chanos) is similarly wide-open.

For those less inclined to travel to fish, the ladyfish (Elops spp.) so abundant in the U.S. Southeast and elsewhere in the world includes several line classes still vacant at press time. These are in both men’s and women’s categories: 12-, 16-, 20- and 30-pound line classes. Wide open.

All-Tackle Length Records for Conventional Tackle

By far the greatest number of relatively easy opportunities for world records are in length records. In 2011, the IGFA added this alternative to weighing a fish on a certified scale on land to enter it for a weight record. In 2023, the IGFA added all-tackle length records specifically for kids 16 and under. An angler need only get a quick, precise measurement of total length and girth — which can be done with the fish in a boat or even boatside — for a length record, meaning that world-record contenders can be released — as is actually required for a length record.

While it’s taken some years to really catch on, a growing conservation ethic as well as increasingly tight harvest regulations have helped create a surge in interest in and popularity of length records. Perhaps not surprisingly, for many of the species the IGFA includes in its all-tackle-length records, the records are impressive — and hard to beat. Still, consider that many records by weight go back 20, 30 or even 50 years, while most length records have been set only in recent years, and in most cases will continue to be beaten, perhaps with some regularity.

Since most of us mentally measure fish in pounds, I looked at some popular gamefish all-tackle weight records, comparing the length of that record (which in some cases has held for decades) for a particular species to the length of the all-tackle length record for the same species. In many, the length record was nearly as long as the established weight-record length, but in some instances, the difference in lengths was great enough to suggest “beatability.” A few examples:

Albacore

True albacore, not little tunny: The all-tackle weight record of 88 pounds, 3 ounces, measured 48.43 inches. The all-tackle length record (set in 2022) measured 30.3 inches.

Almaco Jack

The 136-pound world record went 61.7 inches. The current length record (2019) measured 29.1, so a pretty good spread that suggests some opportunities to beat it.

Bluefish

The world record by weight went 31 pounds, 12 ounces, and measured 47 inches. The current world record by length is 34.3 inches, set in 2013.

Cobia

This one’s fairly tough since the weight record of 135 pounds, 9 ounces, measure 67.3 inches. The length record of 54.7 inches had held since 2011.

California Halibut

Want world record to brag on? Here’s a good bet. The world record by weight for the species is 67 pounds, 6 ounces. That fish measured 44.5 inches. The current world record by length, set in 2017, is only 29.1 inches.

Chinook Salmon

The king salmon offers a great shot at the all-tackle length record. Consider that the 97-pound, 4-ounce weight record measured 58.8 inches. Presently, the length record is held by a mere 36.6-inch fish, caught in 2021.

King Mackerel

As fruits go, this one is almost touching the ground — great shot at a world record. The 93-pound all-tackle record measured 62.5 inches. The present length record (2022) is just over half that size, at 33.9 inches.

Pollock (aka Coalfish)

For anglers who fish the North Atlantic, some possibility here. The weight record is 50 pounds and went 44.5 inches. The length record now stands at 34.7 inches, so a fair spread.

Red Drum

Another one not easy to beat. The all-tackle length record, set in 2021, measured 50 inches, only seven inches off the total for the all-tackle weight-record fish of 94 pounds, 2 ounces.

Rainbow Runner

A world record waiting to happen! That’s because there is no length record  — so far — for this species. Any fair-sized specimen should qualify! (In case you’re wondering, the weight record for the species is 37 pound, 9 ounces. But of course a far smaller fish can get your name into the record book with a length record.)

Tautog

Similarly, this one is surprising in how easily it could be beaten. Consider the spread in lengths between the 28-pound, 13-ounce world record by weight, at 35 inches, versus the mere 18.1 inches of the current holder of the length world record for tautog.

Weakfish

As with the rainbow runner, I can’t tell you the world record for length of the weakfish. It’s not a secret; rather, it’s just not there. Amazingly no angler has stepped up with the necessary forms to claim the length record for weakfish so far in more than 12 years.

Yelloweye Rockfish

And for those who fish the Northeast Pacific (Oregon to Alaska), the world record of this orange-hued bottomfish weighed 39 pounds, 4 ounces. It measured 40.8 inches. The length record is just 27.6 inches.

All-Tackle Length Records for Fly Fishermen

If you’re an ardent fly fisherman and want to see your name in the record book, you’re in a catbird seat. That’s because only recently did the IGFA, for selected species, add this third category of all-tackle length on fly to the existing all-tackle weight- and all-tackle length-record categories. At the time of this writing, for many popular game fish, world records by length on fly remain vacant — wide open and just waiting for anglers to put their names in these enviable slots. A partial list:

Any angler determined to see his or her name as a world-record holder in the prestigious International Game Fish Association annals has a surprisingly good shot at doing so. It all comes down to being strategic and willing to spend some time studying various records in the IGFA’s extensive record-keeping system. Well, not all: A dose of good luck certainly helps any effort.

The post How to Get Your Name in the World Record Book appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

This one is for the kids.

The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) introduced a new all-tackle length category available for junior anglers to submit their record-breaking fish catches. Open to all anglers 16 and younger, the IGFA wanted kids to experience the thrill of setting world records, while promoting conservation through catch-and-release fishing.

That’s right, kids (and adults) don’t have to kill their catches to be recognized in fishing record books, thanks to IGFA’s different all-tackle length categories. Currently, 169 species are eligible for all-tackle length records.

The new All-Tackle Length Junior Category, which is live right now, follows the same rules and regulations as other current length record categories:

• The junior category has one record available for each eligible species
• There is no differentiation made for the angler’s gender or sex

“By introducing the All-Tackle Length Junior Category, we hope to inspire the next generation of anglers to get out and fish, while promoting ethical and sustainable fishing practices,” said IGFA President Jason Schratwieser. “Fishing is a fantastic way to connect with the outdoors, and we believe that by engaging young people with this sport, we can inspire the next generation of stewards of our oceans, lakes, and rivers and help ensure the long-term health and vitality of our aquatic resources.”

The new category is a great opportunity for kids to get hooked on angling. With teenagers more and more disconnected from the outdoors, the IGFA hopes to inspire a new wave of young anglers who are passionate about the sport. The goal of a world record is a worthy and achievable one, whether targeting species like permit, sheepshead, ladyfish or walleye.

The creation of the new record category opened up 169 vacant record opportunities. Have a plan before a junior angler submits a catch to the IGFA. First, make sure the fish species is eligible — species such as blue marlin, yellowfin tuna and tarpon are not on the eligible list. Then, make sure to follow IGFA rules when measuring the fish’s length. And finally, confirm the fish meets minimum length requirements. For example, a California yellowtail needs to be 80 cm (about 31.5 inches) minimum to be eligible for an all-tackle length record. Most importantly, get out on the water with friends and family and have fun — spring is just around the corner.

Important IGFA Resources

• Eligible Species for All-Tackle Length Records
• IGFA Angling Rules
• IGFA Release Guidelines
• World Record Submission Form

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A tie is never as good as a win. Well, unless you just caught the biggest sheepshead in the state of Georgia. Angler Ben Golden III, of Midway, is a winner no matter what, as he now has bragging rights for the heaviest sheepshead ever recorded in Georgia.

Golden’s massive sheepshead weighed 14 pounds, 14.37 ounces. The striped fish was officially certified by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources as tied with another fish of similar weight caught by Ralph White, of Rincon, in 2002. Golden’s catch information will be added to the Georgia DNR record book, and he will receive a certificate from the state for his catch.

According to Georgia DNR records, however, White’s sheepshead weighed 14 pounds, 14 ounces. Golden’s recent fish is .37 pounds heavier. So while the state lumps both fish into the same top spot for sheepshead because of their close weights, it’s a victory for Golden to know he has claim to the best sheepshead ever landed in Georgia waters.

Golden, age 63, was fishing near the sparse community of Sunbury, outside of Midway, located south of Savannah and upstream of St. Catherines Sound. He caught the chunky fish on Jan. 27. The catch fulfilled a longtime ambition for the lifetime Georgia coastal angler.

“I’ve been telling folks it’s been my goal to catch a state record for 10 or 12 years,” Golden told Georgia’s DNR. “I’m excited to say that I did it.”

Late winter through early spring is prime season for big sheepshead along the Georgia Coast, and they are extremely popular with area anglers. According to NOAA data from 2017 to 2021, Georgia state recreational anglers averaged harvesting more 262,000 sheepshead annually.

Sheepshead are noted for being difficult to catch, because their bite is so light to detect. Most are caught with crab baits, usually fiddler or mud crabs. Sheepshead take baits so gently that experienced anglers jokingly say that anyone fishing for sheepshead “should set the hook before they bite.”

The “convict” fish, because of its stripes, are considered one of the best eating fish along the coast. They often have five to seven vertical stripes along their flanks. Some people confuse sheepshead with black drum. But drum have chin barbels or whiskers like catfish, sheepshead don’t. Instead, sheepshead have lots of teeth similar in appearance to those of a sheep, thus their name.

Most coastal sheepshead are caught around rock jetties, piers, docks, bridge abutments and artificial reefs. Almost any area with barnacles is good spot to try fishing for sheepshead. They commonly weigh 3 to 5 pounds; fish near 10 pounds are less common and considered trophies. A 21-pound, 4-ounce sheepshead caught in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1982 is the current all-tackle world record, according to the International Game Fish Association.

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