Every fisherman dreams of reeling in the big catch. While most are left to tell stories of the big one that got away, there are a lucky few who have done the impossible and reeled in a true monster.
There isn't a lake, river or coastline in the world that doesn't offer anglers the opportunity to reel in a monster catch. Just cast your line and see for yourself.
While using mackerel for bait and trolling in Aulds Cove, Nova Scotia on October 26th, 1979, Ken Fraser's line was hit by the biggest bluefin tuna ever to be caught by rod and reel. The 130 lb test line was put to the test as it took the better part of a day for Fraser to land the fish. At 1,496 pounds and 128.5 inches long it holds the world's record for bluefin tuna.
Every year, sport fisherman flock to the Atlantic coast of Brazil to have a go at reeling in what many consider to be the benchmark for a truly outstanding catch. It was in these waters that Paulo Amorum from Vitoria, Brazil caught a 1,402 pound Blue Marlin. Paulo’s catch was not the heaviest Blue Marlin ever caught, however. In 1970, a party of anglers fishing out of Oahu caught a 1,805 pound Pacific Blue commonly referred to as “Choy’s Monster,” but no length was recorded.
On May 17th, 1985 Les Anderson pulled the largest king salmon ever to be caught with tackle. After chasing it upstream, Anderson lured it at about 6:30 in the morning. Brought in with 25 lb test line from a Garcia reel on a Fenwick rod, the monster salmon measured 58.75 inches long and weighed 97 pounds 4 ounces, beating the old record by over four pounds.
Because new conservation laws have limited the taking of the white sturgeon, the official record still belongs to Joey Pallotta and was set at Benecia, California on July 9, 1983 at 102 inches, 468 pounds. However, the largest white sturgeon reportedly ever landed with rod and reel was a 12.25 foot long, 1,102.3 pound behemoth caught by Michael Snell of Britain on July of 2012.
While not listed in the IGFA world records, the record for largest mirror carp (a scaleless mutation of the common carp) belongs to Austrian fisherman Roman Hanke. Hanke landed the huge 44.49 inch, 101 pound 4 ounce carp by enticing it with a birdseed boilie, which is a dough ball made from birdseed. He took the fish at a Hungarian sport fishery near Lake Balaton on June 2nd, 2012.
After a battle of 45 minutes, Richard Anderson of Mebane, North Carolina landed the world record blue catfish at Buggs Island Lake, Virginia. Anderson used 30 lb test line on a Shakespeare Ugly Stick fitted with a Daiwa reel to bring in the 57 inch, 143 pound monster catfish, shattering the old record of 130 pounds set by Greg Bernal in 2010.
The most hallowed record in trophy fishing was set by a young man looking for food, not fame. On June 2, 1932 George Washington Perry and a friend were fishing on Lake Montomery, Georgia when Perry's line was struck. The fight was brief, but Perry had to use both hands to bring the fish into the boat. The 32.5 inch, 22 pound 4 ounce bass still holds the record, which was tied in July of 2009 by Manabu Kurita on Lake Biwa, Japan with a catch of 27.2 inches, but a weight of 22 pounds 4 ounces.
The current record for the giant trevally belongs to Keiki Hamasaki of Kagoshima, Japan, who caught the huge fish while casting from shore with a popper on 130 pound test line on a Zenaq rod with a Daiwa reel. It only took Hamasaki about 30 minutes to land the fish which measured out at 60.24 inches and a whopping 160 pounds and 7 ounces.
The goliath tigerfish is one of the premiere game fish in Africa and is one of the most feared fish on the continent. On June 9, 1988 Raymond Houtmans went fishing in the Zaire River. His bait was a live catfish. Houtmans spent an hour and five minutes fighting to land what would be the world record goliath at 97 pounds and 50.78 inches.
On May 1st, 2010 a group of fishermen netted one of these giants that measured out at nearly 9 feet in length and 646 pounds.The world record for actually catching one of these monster catfish with rod and reel belongs to Martin David Kent, who needed only an hour to land his 260 pound giant catfish in Krabi, Thailand.
The monster great white caught in Lake Montauk, New York by Frank Mundus, the inspiration for the character of Quint in the book Jaws, is the largest fish ever to be caught with a rod and reel weighing in at 3,427 pounds. However, because a team of men and not an individual angler landed the shark, the official record belongs to Alfred Dean, who single-handedly landed a 16.8 foot, 2,664 pound great white shark off of South Australia on April 21st, 1959.
On August 16th, 2013 Marco Liebenow was fishing off the waters of Kjollfjord, Norway when he hooked something so big he later joked he thought he had caught a submarine. Instead, after a 90 minute fight he brought the 9 foot fish to the surface. Once certified by the IGFA, Liebenow's fish will shatter the previous record of 418 pounds 13 ounces set by Thomas Nielsen of Norway in July of 2004.
A quick one minute skirmish with a northern snakehead landed Caleb Newton of Virginia a new world record June 1, 2013. The snakehead, an invasive species in North America, was brought in measuring 34.5 inches and weighing in at 17 pounds 6 ounces. Newton caught the fish using a Lucky Craft crankbait on a Berkley rod with 15 lb test line.
Eric Christopher Otte of Wahoo, Nebraska has a new world record. On July 22, 2013 Otte was jigging at about 900 feet of water near Elfin Cove, AK when he hooked onto a monster rockfish. Using a W.W. Grigg rod and a Shimano reel he was able to bring the 40 pound 11 ounce fish on board. Because the drastic change in pressure kills the fish, Otte was unable to release it and instead had it mounted.
While on a fishing holiday in Thailand to celebrate his birthday, British fisherman Keith Williams caught the largest Siamese carp yet on record. Still to be confirmed by the IGFA, the 134 pound 7 ounce carp beat the old record of 114 pounds 10 ounces held by Terry Mather, also of Britain.
The albino wels catfish is a genetic mutation of the huge wels catfish and is one of the rarest of catches, having become a highly prized trophy fish. In November of 2013 Bernie Campbell of Britain fought for 30 minutes to pull in the largest albino wels yet. At 8 feet long and 206 pounds Campbell's albino catfish broke the old record of 196 lbs.
While fishing off of the northwest coast of France on May 28, 1999, Philippe Boulet landed himself in the record books. Boulet was trolling with 16 lb line when his line was hit by what would be the record European seabass. The prize fish came in at 40.55 inches, 22 pounds and 5 ounces.
On March 27, 2006, Dru Clayton Kinslow was casting a jig into the waters of Veterans Lake outside of Sulphur, Oklahoma when he landed an 8 pound 8 ounce bass. The problem was that nobody knew what type of bass it was. Taking a page from CSI, the biologists at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation sent a sample of the fish's fin for DNA testing and landed Kinslow in the record books for mean mouth bass, a natural hybrid of the smallmouth.
While tournament fishing at Pine Flat Lake in California on April 21, 2001, Brian Shishido was busy trying to win the tournament when he hooked a fish that had him thinking of more than just the tourney. Shishido was dropping his 8 lb test line into about 10 feet of water when he landed the spotted bass that set a new world record at 10 pounds 4 ounces. The weight of the fish also helped put Shishido and his partner over the top for a tournament win.
In 1971, a sportsman from Virginia Beach thought it would be a great idea to promote a new fishing reel by making a world record catch. So, he went off to Bimini, where he was quickly told that world records didn't just happen this way. Undeterred, Jerry Levenstein began his quest. In the first minutes of the second day out he laid into a fish that fought him for over an hour before he brought it in. He had landed a world record 16 pound bonefish.
On October 11th, 2013, Jamie Hamamato was fishing off the North Shore of Hawaii with her dad, Wade. Running 40 pound test through a Penn reel attached to a Tica rod, Jamie was casting shad into the warm Hawaiian waters when her bait was taken. The fish fought hard, but it was a short fight. After five minutes Jamie brought in a 5 pound, 8 ounce sharpjaw bonefish and landed a new world record along with it, eclipsing the old record by 8 ounces.
On the May 19, 1998, Ken Paulie was fishing the dam at Elk City Reservoir outside of Independence, Kansas when his minnow was taken by a monster. Armed with a Zebco rod and the legendary Zebco 33, Ken was playing out lots of 14 lb test line before he was able to get the 123 pound 9 ounce flathead to the shore and land a world record along with it.
When he was transferred to recruiting duty in Florida, the last thing on infantryman Patrick Keough's mind was probably setting world records. On June 7, 2001 as he was fishing in the lake behind his home in Delray Beach, Florida he pulled in a freak fish from another continent. It turned out to be a world record, 2 pound 10 ounce walking catfish.
On April 11, 1986 Randy Huff was on the ice in Canada and he wasn't playing hockey. Instead, he was dangling Trilene 8 lb test line into the frigid waters of North Cross Bay in Manitoba. He certainly had to have warmed up a bit when he pulled out a 7 pound 6 ounce cisco and skated himself into the record books.
