World Record – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Angler lands record-tying ‘convict fish’ near Georgia ghost town

A Georgia angler has tied a 21-year-old state record with the catch of a nearly 15-pound sheepshead near the seaport community of Sunbury.

“To be honest, I’ve been telling folks it’s been my goal to catch a state record for 10 or 12 years,” Golden, an avid fisherman from nearby Midway, told the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. “I’m excited to say that I did it.”

The DNR certified the catch Feb. 2. The official weight was 14 pounds, 14.37 pounces; close enough to tie the record catch of a 14-pound, 14-ounce sheepshead by Ralph White in 2002.

Golden, 63, used an oyster for bait while fishing with Capt. Harry Robertson aboard a private boat.

Top image shows Ben Golden with his record-tying sheepshead. This image shows Ralph White with his record sheepshead caught in 2002.

Sheepshead, immensely popular among Georgia anglers, are often referred to as “convict fish” because of vertical stripes on their bodies.

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The Georgia DNR stated that catches in the 7-pound range are common and that the fish “primarily live inshore, often near rocky areas, docks, bridges or artificial reefs, or other areas with barnacles.”

(The world record stands at 21 pounds, 4 ounces, for a sheepshead catch off New Orleans in 1982.)

Sunbury, on the bank of the Midway River, was founded in 1758. On the eve of the American Revolution the town boasted as many as 1,000 residents, but by the mid-1800s it was mostly abandoned.

Explore Southern History describes the Ghost Town of Sunbury as “one of Georgia’s most ‘dead’ or lost towns.”

N.J. angler lands giant albacore, breaks 38-year-old record

A New Jersey angler’s October catch of a 78-pound albacore has shattered a state record that had stood since 1984.

A New Jersey angler’s October catch of a 78-pound albacore has replaced a state record that had stood since 1984.

The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday that it has approved Matthew Florio’s record application for his catch aboard the Luna Sea.

Florio was fishing at Hudson Canyon and using a butter fish as bait when the recored albacore struck. The catch measured 48-3/8 inches and beat the previous weight record by 3.4 ounces.

For comparison, the world record for albacore stands at 88 pounds, 2 ounces. That catch occurred at Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, in November 1977.

Albacore, commonly referred to as longfin tuna, are a migratory species found globally in tropical and warm temperate waters.

Record smallmouth bass reeled from Lake Erie; ‘I was trembling’

An Ohio angler has caught the largest smallmouth bass ever reeled from Lake Erie and the Great Lakes.

Gregg Gallagher, 54, a high-school business teacher in Fremont, caught the 10.15-pound bass Nov. 6 while fishing with his 24-year-old son, Grant.

The previous record was the catch of a 9.5-pound smallmouth by renowned bass angler Randy VanDam in 1993.

VanDam will still hold the Ohio record; Gallagher’s heavier catch is the largest in Ontario waters and throughout the Great Lakes.

Gallagher, 56, told Cleveland.com that he had dropped his lure toward bottom structure when the smallmouth struck.

“On that cast, the fish hit even before the lure reached the bottom,” he said. “When I felt the light bite I set the hook. I knew immediately that it was a big fish, but at first I thought it was a really large sheepshead.”

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After they realized it was a prized smallmouth, and as Grant netted the fish, both Gallaghers were beside themselves with excitement.

“I was just trembling, and still feel goose bumps when I think about that bass,” Gallagher said.

Gregg Gallagher credited Grant’s knowledge of the fishery and use of electronic equipment for putting him on the record fish.

A mount of the catch will be placed on display at the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s Fisheries Research Station, according to Cleveland.com. A replica will go on display at Gallagher’s home.

For comparison, the all-tackle world record for smallmouth bass stands at 11 pounds, 15 ounces. That fish was caught by David Hayes at Tennessee’s Dale Hollow Lake in 1955.

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California angler shatters 34-year-old yellowtail world record

A California angler who landed a 36-pound, 10-ounce yellowtail at San Clemente Island in late July has been granted a women’s line-class world record.

Lisa Kitagawa’s catch, after a 25-minute battle on 12-pound-test line, shatters a record that had stood for nearly 34 years.

Kitagawa is a member of the Balboa Angling Club, which shared the International Game Fish Assn.’s announcement Friday via social media.

The announcement begins: “On July 19, 2022, Lisa Kitagawa landed this impressive 16.58-kilogram (36-pound, 10-ounce) California yellowtail on a live sardine, setting the IGFA Women’s 6-kg (12-lb) Line Class World Record for the species.”

Kitagawa was with Capt. Daron Muratyan aboard the Peruz when she landed the record catch.

California yellowtail are prized by anglers for their fighting ability and as table fare. They typically occur in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez and along the Pacific coast of Baja California, and off Southern California.

For comparison, the California state record for the species (on any line strength) is listed at 63 pounds, 1 ounce.

According to the IGFA, Kitagawa now holds four world records, including an all-tackle record for parrot sandbass (4 pounds).

Angler spears world-record-size paddlefish in ‘trip to remember’

On the day’s final dive in Beaver Lake, Chris Cantrell hoped for a striped bass but instead speared a potential world-record paddlefish.

On the final dive of the day in Beaver Lake, Chris Cantrell was hoping for a striped bass but instead speared a potential spearfishing world-record paddlefish in what he described as “a trip to remember.”

Cantrell shot the 90-pound, 12-ounce paddlefish in the Arkansas lake while spearfishing with a friend and his brother-in-law Kalvin Cackler near the dam last weekend, according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Cantrell was in 15 to 20 feet of water when he saw a large shape and thought it was a gar, but as he got closer, he saw it was a huge paddlefish and took the shot.

“I dropped the gun after the shot because the fish made a strong dive when it was hit,” Cantrell told the AGFC. “With a big fish, you drop the gun so that it doesn’t pull you down. The float line will keep it pinned. By the time I was back at the surface, the fish had already pulled the line from the gun and the 50 feet of float line. It was pulling against the float at the surface.

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“It probably took 10 to 15 minutes. I had to let the float line work about four or five times during the fight when the fish made hard runs.”

Once he tired the fish, Cantrell pulled what he thought could be a record into the boat, and then faced a dilemma. Where would he weigh the fish?

“It was a holiday weekend, so finding somewhere with certified scales that was open took a long time,” Cantrell said. “The AGFC office was closed, and certified scales are required for any record submissions. My sister actually suggested we try calling a UPS store. To my surprise, one agreed.”

Eventually, Jon Stein, regional fisheries supervisor for the AGFC, confirmed the species and the record fish.

The Arkansas record for a paddlefish caught on hook and line is 118 pounds, 9 ounces, also caught in Beaver Lake, in 2020.

Angler’s mystery catch is a pending-record cobia

A Connecticut angler has landed a pending state-record cobia in Long Island Sound, well north of the species’ typical range.

John Bertolasio hooked the 40-pound cobia using a dead eel as bait. During the 90-minute fight, the fish sounded, snapping Bertolasio’s rod.

Connecticut Fish and Wildlife stated Thursday that the record is pending “awaiting weight on a certified scale and affidavit.”

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Connecticut currently does not list cobia in its record database, but explained that “encounters with southern species, like cobia, are becoming more and more frequent in Long Island Sound due to climate change.”

CFW added that Bertolasio thought the fish was a shark when he looked down and saw the brown fins.

“John did not know what he had caught until he sent the picture of the fish to a friend,” the agency stated. “Once he found out it was legal (and good eating), he kept it.”

According to the International Game Fish Assn., cobia are similar to sharks in appearance. But with broad, depressed heads they more strongly resemble remoras, which often attach to or swim with sharks.

The IGFA lists as the world record a 135-pound, 9-ounce cobia caught off Western Australia in 1985.

Fisherman catches a white marlin worth a staggering $4.5 million

At the end of the final day of the five-day White Marlin Open, Jeremy Duffie weighed a fish that set a world record for a winning fish.

At 6:20 p.m. on the final day of the five-day White Marlin Open, the boat Billfisher pulled up to the scale and angler Jeremy Duffie of Bethesda, Maryland, weighed in the winning fish that was worth a staggering $4.5 million.

Duffie’s white marlin weighed 77.5 pounds and took the lead away from Keeley Megarity, the Houston fisherman who had caught a 71.5-pound white marlin the day before. Megarity on the boat C-Student took $197,000 for second place.

The actual payout for Duffie was $4,536,926, a world-record payout for one fish, surpassing the previous record of $3.2 million from last year’s White Marlin Open.

The tournament, based in Ocean City, Maryland, drew 408 boats that vied for $8.6 million in total prize money. The fishing was slower than usual this year with only 151 caught-and-released billfish compared to the average of 800.

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The White Marlin Open is primarily a catch-and-release tournament with the biggest payouts reserved for the heaviest marlin. Tournament director Jim Motsko told Sport Fishing that the event averages a 97 percent release rate.

Bill Britt aboard Cabana weighed in a 511-pound blue marlin, the only qualifier in that division, and took home $1.2 million. But it was the Duffie catch that made the biggest headlines.

“My brother and I have been fishing out of Ocean City since we were born,” Duffie told Sport Fishing. “Winning has always eluded us, now we’ve done what we wanted to do.”

“As a family, grandparents, sisters and sisters-in-law, brothers, and friends, it’s something you’ll never be able to replace,” Duffie told FOX5. “It’s like the Super Bowl of fishing for people like us who do it. You try to win this tournament your whole life.”

Photos courtesy of the White Marlin Open and Wikipedia Commons.

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Record sturgeon catch described as ‘exceedingly rare’

A Idaho lake known for bass and crappie fishing is now famous for having produced the state-record white sturgeon.

Greg Poulsen, visiting from Utah, landed the nearly 10-foot, 4-inch sturgeon Aug. 5 after a marathon battle at C.J. Strike Reservoir.

White sturgeon, the largest freshwater fish in North America, are protected in Idaho and the state only recognizes catch-and-release records.

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The sturgeon released by Poulsen measured 124 inches (10.33 feet). The previous record was 119.5 inches, set in 2019.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game, which announced the record on Friday, explained that white sturgeon exceeding 10 feet are “exceedingly rare” anywhere but the deep-running Hells Canyon stretch of the Snake River.

Even in Hells Canyon, though, of the more than 4,000 white sturgeon counted during IDFG surveys over the past 30 years, only 10 sturgeon exceeded 10 feet.

“So, yes, they do exist, but these are very rare and special fish,” the IDFG stated Friday.

Sturgeon populations in Idaho have declined sharply from historic levels because of dams, pollution and over harvesting.

The release-only rule has been in place since 1971. But Idaho does list a rod-and-reel weight record for white sturgeon: a 394-pound fish caught on the Snake River by Glenn Howard in 1956.

The state also has record of a 675-pound white sturgeon caught via set line in 1908.

C.J. Strike Reservoir is an impoundment of the Snake River and Bruneau River.

Poulsen and his wife, Angie, and friend Wendy Guess – all from Eagle Mountain, Utah – are pictured posing with the record sturgeon in the water. Hoisting sturgeon even for photos is banned.

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Record size hammerhead shark released out of respect

A pair of South Carolina anglers on Wednesday caught and released a hammerhead shark that was at least 400 pounds heavier than the longstanding state record, and perhaps rivaled the world record.

Primary angler Pete Quartuccio and a friend teamed to reel the nearly 14-foot shark to leader after an hourlong fight, whereupon it was tagged and set free by Outcast Sportfishing Capt. Chip Michalove.

Michalove estimated the shark’s weight at 1,000-plus pounds. The current South Carolina record, set in 1989, stands at 588 pounds. The world record is a 1,280-pound catch in 2006 off Boca Grande, Fla.

The shark put up such a ferocious struggle, Michalove said, that Quartuccio and his buddy were too exhausted to pose for photos while the massive predator was alongside the boat.

13.5ft, over 1,000lbs, hammerhead this morning. We set out fully committed into finding the same hammer that was circling us yesterday and she was waiting. Tagged and released her healthy. Would’ve demolished our state record but love these fish too much to kill. @AftcoFishing pic.twitter.com/4cLzN0z70T

— Outcast Charters (@ChipHHI) July 13, 2022

“They were so exhausted they could barely stand,” Michalove said. “Pete crashed on the cooler and laid there in exhaustion, and his friend was so tired that I barely convinced him to just hold the camera while I reached over and grabbed the shark’s head for one quick photo.

“I tried to get them to lean over for a picture, but they wouldn’t budge. So I threw a quick tag in the shark, popped the hook and sent her off.”

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Michalove said he spotted the same hammerhead circling a bait during a Tuesday charter. On Wednesday, close to shore in rough weather, Quartuccio, a veteran shark angler, was at the rod when the shark took his bait.

“She ripped off 400 yards in about 60 seconds,” Michalove recalled. “I released from the anchor and spun the boat to chase [the shark]. I knew she was going to be enormous, but I didn’t know of the enormity until we got her a little closer and I could see the width.”

The group knew the shark might eclipse the world record in size, but at no point considered killing the shark to obtain an official weight.

Said Michalove: “Fifteen years ago, I would’ve thrown a rope around her head and dragged her back to demolish the records. But these sharks have given me a good life and they’re too important to our fishery.

“We’ve recaptured so many tigers, lemons, bulls, I owe them everything. I’ve gotten a few messages on how I should’ve dragged her back, but there’s not even a question that we did the right thing.”

Angler fishing for bass shatters 44-year-old carp record

A Maryland angler on Sunday reeled a 49-pound common carp from Chesapeake Bay, shattering a state record that had stood since 1978.

A Maryland angler on Saturday reeled a 49-pound common carp from Chesapeake Bay, shattering a record that had stood since 1978.

Logan Kurhmann, 24, was targeting bass in the Susquehanna Flats area when the massive carp struck the plastic worm he had been casting.

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“We’ve seen some really big ones up in the Flats but we’ve never seen one this big,” Kurhmann told the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which announced the new record on Tuesday. “The bass fishing wasn’t great but this made my week.”

Kuhrmann’s fish was weighed on a certified scale at a nearby bait and tackle shop, where the catch was verified by a DNR biologist.

The previous record of 44.4 pounds was established by an angler named Jimmy Lake at Morgantown Beach in 1978.

Maryland lists state records under several divisions. Kurhmann’s record is in the Chesapeake Division. (Maryland also keeps carp records under a Non-tidal division.)

For the sake of comparison, the all-tackle world record for common carp stands at 75 pounds, 11 ounces. That fish was caught at Lac de St. Cassien, France, in 1987.

–Image courtesy of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources