The colossal fish caught by Jose Naranjo was a type of carp commonly used to decorate residential and community ponds.
A Texas angler was hoping to catch bass recently at San Antonio pond, but instead hooked and landed a giant koi.
“I’ve seen it there before and have wondered if anyone’s caught it before,” Jose Naranjo told My San Antonio. “It’s actually one of three that are in those ponds.”
Koi are a type of domesticated carp, considered ornamental because of their bright coloration. They’re used to decorate residential or community ponds and in Japan the fish represent love and friendship.
Naranjo theorized that the koi he caught on April 5 had been released there by somebody who no longer wanted the fish.
Naranjo was practicing catch-and-release fishing and set the koi free after posing for a photo. He estimated the koi’s length at 30-plus inches.
“They are easy to raise, grow fast, and lack sharp dorsal spines, making them easy for the bass to eat,” the agency explains on its website. “In an average year, the hatcheries will produce 15,000 to 20,000 kilograms of koi.”
The largest of the catches at O.H. Ivie Lake, weighing 15.82 pounds, is the 37th heaviest bass caught in state history.
A Texas reservoir this week yielded an astonishing four largemouth bass topping 13 pounds in four days.
The bass were caught at O.H. Ivie Lake and the largest – weighing 15.82 pounds – was landed March 18 by Kyle Hall of Granbury.
“I got on the water around 8 or 8:30 a.m. and really didn’t catch much until around 4 p.m.,” Hall said. “I reeled in a 10.20-pound fish and then about an hour later I did something random and ran up the river where I caught an 11-pounder.
“I then ran back down and by the dam I came across this fish. She about ripped the rod out of my hand.”
All four bass were kept alive and “loaned” to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for a hatchery spawning and stocking effort designed to enhance fisheries across the state.
The Toyota ShareLunker Program, as it’s called, accepts only “Legacy Class” bass weighing at least 13 pounds for the spawning portion. So far this year, 17 Legacy Class bass have been donated to the program.
Hall’s bass was the heaviest caught this year in Texas, and the 37th heaviest in state history.
According to the TPWD, Hall has donated Legacy Class bass in three consecutive seasons – all three of his catches coming at O.H. Ivie.
Said Natalie Goldstrohm, Toyota ShareLunker program coordinator: “This reservoir has established itself as a top destination for many trophy largemouth bass anglers and it is no surprise that Kyle Hall and others target these giants at O.H. Ivie year after year.”
The other Legacy bass caught at O.H. Ivie this past week included a 14.18-pounder by Bud Robey on March 17; a 13.62-pounder by Larry Walker on March 20, and a 13.22-pounder by Scott Hines on March 20.
O.H. Ivie is on the Colorado and Concho Rivers east of San Angelo.
The 2024 Toyota ShareLunker Program will run through March 31.
Eric Allee was targeting bass when he reeled in perhaps the largest crappie ever caught in the state.
A Colorado angler who landed perhaps the largest crappie ever caught in the state last November has been awarded a catch-and-release record.
Eric Allee was targeting bass from a kayak at McKay Lake on Nov. 12 when he spotted what he assumed were three large crappie on his forward-facing sonar unit.
Allee, a marketing director at Eagle Claw Tackle in Denver, hooked one of the fish with a 3.6-inch Berkley Flat Worm and soon realized that he might have a record crappie on his line.
On Friday, after being informed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife that his 18.25-inch black crappie had broken the previous catch-and-release length record, Allee told FTW Outdoors what went through his mind during the fight:
“It all happened so fast, but it felt like slow motion if that makes any sense. My heart was pounding, I was trying to remain tactful, and I was petrified at the same time.
“When she breached the surface, I would cringe every time her head would shake. Anyone who’s ever chased crappie knows they’re notorious for having paper-thin skin around the framework of their jaw; with a fish that heavy, if she was hooked in the thin-skinned parts of her mouth, it’s a recipe for disaster.
“After what seemed like forever, I felt instant relief when I scooped the net under her and lifted her out of the water.”
Eric Allee poses with 18.25-inch black crappie before releasing the fish. Photo: Eric Allee
Allee said the crappie weighed 3 pounds, 15 ounces on a scale he keeps on his kayak. He knew he could also shatter the Colorado weight record (3.48 pounds, set in 2017) if he killed the fish to have it weighed somewhere on a certified scale.
But Allee told FTW Outdoors that the fish was so large and magnificent-looking that he chose to toss it back after immortalizing the catch with a photograph.
“I didn’t want to kill the fish for the record,” he said. “It’s not that I’m against killing fish, I eat crappie often, but didn’t want to kill the fish just for the record.
“There’s more to it for me, too. I practice selective harvest and there’s something special about watching big fish go back.”
Colorado is not known for giant crappie, but any crappie topping three pounds is a giant.
For comparison, the all-tackle world-record black crappie in the weight category stands at 5 pounds, 7 ounces. That fish was caught at Richeison Pond in Tennessee in 2018.
The International Game Fish Assn. lists as the length (release) record a tie between five catches measuring 37 centimeters, or about 14.6 inches.
Allee said he did not consider applying to the IGFA for a possible length record and bemoaned the fact that he missed the 60-day limit for record submissions.
For comparison, the all-tackle world record for blue catfish stands at 143 pounds, for a fish caught at Virginia’s Kerr Lake (Buggs Island Lake) in June 2011.
California gives adventurous travelers seemingly endless outdoor travel possibilities. You can surf by the shore, ski the summits, and hike gorgeous trails. The state even has nine national parks to visit. Among those national parks are heavy-hitters like Joshua Tree, Death Valley, and Yosemite. With so many activities and destinations to explore, individual California towns can sometimes be overlooked by tourists planning their next trip. Don’t make that mistake the next time you’re near the charming town of Redding.
Redding, California, claims the title of “sunniest city in all of California.” It also enjoys spectacular views of nearby Mount Shasta. On a recent trip to the area, Outdoors Wire scoped out some of the city’s best spots and recreation opportunities. What we found will have you itching to plan a visit. Here are five awesome outdoor activities to experience in and around Redding.
As much as we might wish for it, most of us can’t be on vacation every day. For the majority of the year, we have to settle for making the most of our weekends. This presents a unique challenge for outdoorsy types. When you crave adventure, it can be difficult to fit all your activities into a day or two. This is where one-day adventures come in clutch.
If you want to maximize your free time, keep a bucket list of one-day outdoor excursions. Are you curious to try a new hiking trail? Add it to the list. Want to see a new side to your state’s scenery? Plan a day trip. And if you can’t decide which activity to try next, peruse this list of one-day outdoor adventures to keep your weekends fun and active.
An angler in Australia has caught and released a black marlin estimated to weigh 950 pounds, but not everybody is impressed.
Grander Watch on Saturday shared an image of a giant black marlin jumping behind a boat off Cooktown, Australia. The Facebook description boasted that the marlin, which was released, weighed an estimated 950 pounds.
Apparently, Keith Poe, a prominent California-based shark tagger, was not impressed.
Beneath the marlin post, Poe shared an image showing a massive great white shark alongside his boat and commented, simply: “5,000 pounds.”
Poe told FTW Outdoors that he caught and tagged the shark years ago off Mexico’s Guadalupe Island.
Keith Poe poses with catch of an estimated 5,000-pound white shark.
As for the catch of a 950-pound black marlin, it’s impressive. The catch of any marlin weighing close to or more than 1,000 pounds (a.k.a. grander) is considered rare.
The all-tackle world record for black marlin stands at 1,560 pounds. The record, set off Cabo Blanco, Peru, has stood since 1953.
An odd-looking fish with blue flesh was caught recently in Alaska, but a transformation occurred when the fillets were cooked in a frying pan.
Alaska News Source on Thursday featured the recent catch of an odd-looking fish with bright-blue flesh. “Blue-fleshed rock greenling caught in Homer looks like a creature out of a Dr. Seuss book,” reads the headline.
Staying on theme, the author began:
“Alaska offers some of the most unique and diverse fishing there is. You could catch one fish, you could catch two fish, you can definitely catch a red fish — but did you know you could catch a blue fish?”
Blue rock greenling fillet. Photo: The Lodge at Otter Cove
Images of the blue greenling fillets were shared Aug. 30 by The Lodge at Otter Cove, which stated on Facebook:
“Went out fishing today and caught a rock greenling. The flesh is blue. It turns white when you cook it. Mother nature is incredible.”
Nearly 600 followers chimed in with expressions of astonishment.
Donald Arthur, a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told Alaska News Source that the blue coloration is caused by a bile pigment called Biliverdin, also found in lingcod.
Rock greenling range from the Bering Sea to Central California and are caught primarily near rocky reefs.
Rock greenling flesh turning white in a frying pan. Photo: The Lodge at Otter Cove
Their skin is greenish-brown, sometimes with bright red blotches.
States the Oregon Department of Wildlife: “The meat in rock greenling is always blue or green in color, but when cooked the meat will turn white.”
As if to prove this, The Lodge at Otter Cove pinned a video atop the comments section of its post, showing seasoned blue fillets turning white in a frying pan. (See image above.)
Would you consider this a delicacy? Perhaps not, but the cooked white flesh of rock greenling is said to be flaky and mild.
Sailfish, typically encountered far from shore, were documented swimming inside the Cabo San Lucas marina on Wednesday.
The marina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, is where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez, and game fish abound in offshore waters.
But on Wednesday, folks did not even have to board a boat to encounter a type of billfish described by National Geographic as “the fastest fish in the ocean.”
The accompanying footage, shared Wednesday by the Pisces Sportfishing Fleet, shows a large sailfish cruising inside the marina.
“Filmed by Javi Sanchez this AM in the marina in Cabo – apparently there were 3 or 4 Sails that came straight into the Marina and he caught this one on film,” Pisces wrote on Facebook. “After a few minutes the Sailfish made their way back out to the bay!”
Sailfish are typically encountered far from shore in tropical and subtropical waters. They are speedsters without peer, capable of swimming in bursts up to 68 mph.
Pisces Sportfishing crewman releases a sailfish caught offshore in 2021.
Sailfish are named, obviously, for their large dorsal fins, which resemble sails when the they’re exposed at the surface.
It’s not known why the sailfish entered the Cabo marina, but sailfish often use their dorsal fins to corral schooling baitfish.
Looking for a super secluded holiday with your sweetheart, besties, or favorite family members? Off the Map Travel offers a dream package for those who want to get really far away from civilization. Spend two nights at a floating safari camp at Sweden’s Lake Degerselet, just south of the Arctic Circle, then transfer by canoe for a final night at the land-based Aurora Safari Camp.
Despite the remote location, you won’t be roughing it at the floating safari camp. You’ll have two glamping tents, a double room, a toilet, and a shower. The kitchen has a two-burner stove, refrigerator, and a dining area. Act fast, or book for next year. The floating camp operates June through September and can sleep up to six people. Here are some of the adventures you can go on while you’re there.
