Tag: rare catch

Anglers towed half-mile by giant paddlefish; ‘Is that a dinosaur?’

A pair of Tennessee anglers last week hooked a giant paddlefish that towed their boat more than a half-mile before it could be landed.

A pair of Tennessee anglers last week hooked a giant paddlefish that towed their boat more than a half-mile before it could be landed.

The anglers, identified by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency only as Matt and Jason, hoisted the 5-foot, 55-pound paddlefish long enough to snap a few photos before releasing it back into the Caney Fork River.

They anglers had been fishing for striped bass when they snagged the paddlefish.

The TWRA began its Saturday Facebook post with the introduction, “Is that a dinosaur?” That was in reference to the fish’s primitive appearance and the fact that American paddlefish are prehistoric, dating back millions of years.

They’re endemic to the Mississippi River Basin and inhabit systems throughout the Mississippi Valley and Gulf slope.

According to the TWRA they can measure more than 5 feet and weigh 200-plus pounds.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, American paddlefish are endangered or threatened in most states within their historic range. The fish, which are highly migratory, can live 50-plus years.

Their diet consists mostly of plankton, small plants and animals.

–Images courtesy of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

Fisherman nets rare two-headed shark, decides to throw it back

A commercial fisherman in India discovered a rare surprise Friday when he hauled up his net: a tiny two-headed shark.

A commercial fisherman in India discovered a rare surprise Friday when he hauled up his net: a two-headed baby shark.

The shark, caught by Nitin Patil off the village of Satpai in Palghar, measured only six inches and was tossed back after the fisherman took photographs.

“We do not eat such small fish, especially sharks, so I thought it was strange but decided to throw it [back] anyway,” Patil told the Hindustan Times.

The news website quotes another fisherman as saying, “We have never seen anything like this before.”

It’s believed to be the first documentation of a two-headed shark caught off the Indian state of Maharashtra, and scientists wish Patil would have kept the specimen.

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Biologists with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research – Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute said the fetus was that of either a spadenose shark or sharpnose shark, which inhabit the tropical Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean.

“Both are viviparous [birthing live young that have developed inside the parent], and are common in Maharashtra waters,” Dr. Akhilesh KV, CMFRI scientist, told The Hindustan Times.

“These are dicephalic. This phenomenon is reported in several animal species including sharks, possibly due to mutation or any other embryonic malformation, disorders, and these are very rare reports. Similar cases are reported elsewhere outside the northern Indian Ocean. These materials should be preserved out of scientific interest.”

The Hindustan Times notes that a two-headed milk shark was caught off Gujarat in 1964, and a two-headed spadenose shark was caught off Karwar in 1991.

–Images courtesy of Nitin Patil and Umesh Palekar

Anglers on skiff land rare ‘super cow’ tuna

A 367-pound yellowfin tuna was caught last Friday in the Los Cabos region of Baja California Sur, Mexico, after the massive fish devoured a smaller tuna used as bait.

A 367-pound yellowfin tuna was caught last Friday in the Los Cabos region of Baja California Sur, Mexico, after the massive fish devoured a smaller tuna used as bait.

The rare “super cow,” a reference to yellowfin tuna weighing 300 pounds or more, was caught aboard a 23-foot panga, or skiff, by brothers Jesus and Gerardo Banaga out of La Playita near San Jose del Cabo.

According to Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas, the fish was hooked on a medium-size skipjack tuna that was trolled near Inner Gordo Banks in the Sea of Cortez. The fight lasted 2.5 hours.

A Pisces Sportfishing Facebook post provides more detail:

“They looped around the area only once when this Super Cow Yellowfin torpedoed out of the water after their bait. The fish ran for an hour straight, with the guys in hot pursuit, trying to avoid getting spooled.

“After the run it headed down deep and the hard work began. Two-and-a-half hours after the hookup they had the fish at the gaff.”

Brictson said Jesus Banaga is a longtime captain in his panga fleet, and that the tuna was weighed by another local, who purchased the fish afterward.

Tracy Ehrenberg, who runs Pisces Sportfishing in Cabo San Lucas, told For The Win Outdoors that only a handful of “super cow” tuna are caught in area waters each year.

“With more sophisticated boats, new techniques such as kites, balloons, 360-degree radar, and boats being able to travel further, I do believe catches of these big fish has gone up,” Ehrenberg said.

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“On the other hand, nothing can beat good old-fashioned skill. A lot of the panga guys out of La Playita are commercial tuna fishermen that also like to sportfish, so they know where they are and how to catch them – hence monster fish on tiny boats.”

Brictson said that on Saturday, Inner Gordo Banks was crowded with anglers hoping to latch onto a giant tuna, but there were no significant hookups.

“Still hit or miss,” he said.

While catches of super cow yellowfin tuna are rare, catches topping 400 pounds are exceedingly rare.

According to the International Game Fish Assn., the all-tackle world record stands at 427 pounds. The fish was caught south of Cabo San Lucas by Guy Yocom in September 2012.

–Images are courtesy of Gordo Banks Pangas and Pisces Sportfishing

A catch so rare that it’s spared the dinner table

Robyn Bordelon has landed more catfish than she can count, but her recent catch of a 10-pound blue catfish is one she’ll never forget.

Robyn Bordelon has landed more catfish than she can count, but her recent catch of a 10-pound blue catfish is likely one that she’ll never forget.

The fish, caught from a kayak on the Mississippi River, had no blue pigmentation. It was mostly white with a piebald pattern more likely to appear on a horse or cow, with a pink-and-black tail.

Robyn Bordelon poses with rare leucistic blue catfish. Photo: Robyn Bordelon

“I’ve seen pictures of these fish, but I never thought one would grace my line,” Bordelon, who is from Destrehan, La., told For The Win Outdoors. “That’s the best Monday I’ve had in a long time, and watching that fish swim away was priceless.”

Bordelon, who retrieved her baited jug lines on March 16 in the hope of landing fish she could store in her freezer, said she could not bring herself to keep the odd-looking catfish.

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It was likely leucistic, a rare condition in which skin lacks typical pigmentation.

“That fish is at a disadvantage from birth with a mostly white coloration that sticks out to predators,” Bordelon told Louisiana Sportsman, explaining why she set it free. “When I pulled up the line and saw what it was – and how big it was – I almost lost my lunch.”

Robyn Bordelon shows off a normal-looking blue catfish. Photo: Robyn Bordelon

Bordelon told For The Win Outdoors that she likes to fish with a rod and reel, but when the river is high during the spring runoff she uses her kayak to set jug lines.

The anchored lines, with jugs serving as floats, are baited with shad or mullet and allowed to sit for extended periods. Bordelon waited about 24 hours before checking her lines on March 16, but the leucistic catfish appeared to have been freshly hooked.

She told Louisiana Sportsman: “I quickly got it netted, took pics, revived it, and happily watched it swim away.”

–Images showing Robyn Bordelon with a rare leucistic blue catfish, and a normal-looking blue catfish (bottom), are courtesy of Robyn Bordelon

Angler finds that catching rare wolf eel is the easy part

Tanner Wright discovered Monday that reeling a wolf eel from the depths is a lot easier than holding onto one while posing for a video.

Tanner Wright discovered Monday that reeling a wolf eel from the Southern California depths is a lot easier than holding onto one while posing for a video.

The accompanying footage shows Wright, a deckhand on the Reel Fun out of Dana Wharf Sportfishing, trying to pose with the bizarre-looking creature while Capt. Chris Pica documented his rare catch.

“Come on Tanner, grab the thing. We’re trying to get a picture. Stop screwing around,” Pica jokingly instructs.

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Wright, struggling to grab the tail of the slithering wolf eel, responds: “He needs to calm down.”

Wolf eels, a species of wolffish, are found along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Baja California, but they’re rarely caught aboard sportfishing vessels.

While they possess dangerous canine teeth and molars, and jaws designed to crush the hard shells of prey, they’re rarely aggressive toward humans and are a prized sighting for scuba divers.

They reside mostly in rocky caves and crevices, where they prey on invertebrates such as crabs, clams, mussels and urchins. But wolf eels also will ambush small fish.

Donna Kalez, general manager of Dana Wharf Sportfishing, said Wright caught his wolf eel on a sardine at a depth of nearly 300 feet. It was kept alive in the bait tank overnight, and released Tuesday.

On Wednesday the landing announced that it would cease operations at least through March 31 in cooperation with coronavirus-related closures mandated by Orange County.

–Images of Tanner Wright with wolf eel are courtesy of Dana Wharf Sportfishing