USA: Alabama record king mackerel landed

Some breaking news from Zeke's Landing in Orange Beach, Ala.
They just posted that 8-year-old Andrew Quinn came down from Michigan and landed a 68.3-pound king mackerel. Andrew was fishing on the Fish Trap Charters with Captain Billy Neff and deckhand Kelly Collins.
The current record is set at 67 pounds, 15 ounces, which was caught out of Mobile in 2002.
http://zekeslanding.com/

U.K.: Fisherman smashes record by catching a 46lb pike

Since 1822, CF Gifford has held the legendary pike record in England, but Gifford now has some company at the top.
Andy O'Connor, 20, was fishing at Wykeham Lakes near Scarborough, East Yorkshire when the 46-pound pike hit, the exact same weight as the standing record. O'Connor had caught a few trout earlier in the day, but he knew something monstrous was at the end of his line when the pike hit.
While O'Connor's fish is tied for the biggest pike in England, it was 13 ounces shy of the Great Britain record, which was set in Wales in 1992.
"The English record has been held for such a long time. It's a shame that I could only equal it and not beat it. Maybe I will next time," said O'Connor according to the Daily Mail.
After weighing and photographing the fish, he released the pike back into Wykeham Lakes.

USA: a new Oklahoma largemouth bass record

A new Oklahoma state record largemouth bass was caught Friday, March 23, at Cedar Lake in southeast Oklahoma - a monster weighing in at 14 lbs. 12.3 oz and measuring 26 inches in length and 22 3/8 inches in girth.
The bass was caught by Poteau angler Benny Williams, Jr. while on a camping trip at the 78-acre LeFlore Co. lake. He caught it at 11 a.m. on a ¼ oz. Striker King jig.
Williams' fish breaks a state record held since 1999 when William Cross caught a 14-lb. 11.52-oz. bass from Broken Bow Lake.
"Catching the state record largemouth bass in Oklahoma is a big deal and catching a fish this large is a big deal," said Barry Bolton, chief of fisheries for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. "It speaks to the quality of fishing we have in Oklahoma and also to the anglers who get out there and fish for them. We congratulate him on his great catch."

ECUDOR: last updated from Galapagos

March 21, 2012 we ran to 88 Bank on the Big Fish with the Johnsons again to fly fish. The day was perfect and calm. Sunny with water temp 74.8-76 F in the AM. We managed to raise 3 stripeys and get a bite out of the first one on fly. Unfortunately it spit the fly after windshield whipping for about a minute.
Pete Santini onboard the Vertigo raised 3 stripeys and had 1 bite. On the way to 88 Bank they saw a large blue estimated over 800# tailing in the flat waters 16 miles off of Punta Pitt.
March 22, 2012 was the last day for Byron Johnson onboard the Big Fish. We decided to change course and head for the banks off of Espanola. Captain Ronnie had been given a report by local fishermen that they had seen tailers 2 days before in the area. However after about 2 hours of working the banks we decided to run to La Entrada. La Entrada is a bank near the famous Rosa Blanca mounds. Once we arrived on La Entrada we saw dolphins, birds and sea lions but raised no marlin. We then ran to the Honey Hole. Not long after arriving Ronnie spotted a large marlin tail swimming down-sea. We made 6 passes at the marlin and noticed it was about a 400# blue. The fish would swim into the spread chase the white water from the engines and play around the spread without showing any aggression. This went on for a good 10 minutes until we no longer saw the blue. Later in the day we raised in 1300 feet and a mile from the Honey Hole another blue around 300#. This time the fish teased angrily to the boat and Byron cast his Cam Sigler fly. The fish made a move underneath as to eat the fly but then passed. I quickly cats a ballyhoo on the spinning rod and got the fish to bite and chase it but it would not have anything to do with Byron's fly.

www.ecuagringo.com 

IGFA: Hot Catches March 2012

Smallfry, All-Tackle, line class, tippet class and All-Tackle Length catches from Australia, Ecuador, New Zealand, Panama, and the U.S. States of Florida and Maryland are all before the IGFA World Records Committee awaiting judgment of their World Record status. These seven catches are the hottest we’ve received at IGFA headquarters for the month of March!
 

Angler Corey E. Nowakowski of Tamarac, Florida, USA, was fishing a local canal in Coral Springs, Florida on February 2, 2012 when he hooked into an enormous great snakehead (Channamarulius). Nowakowski was casting a JD’s Custom Frog when the 5.44 kg (12 lb) snakehead exploded on his bait. After a quick two minute fight, Corey had the potential All-Tackle record fish boated. The current IGFA record is 5.22 kg (11 lb 8 oz). 

 
Smallfry angler Jaime Alfonso Nebot of Guayaquil, Ecuador was casting a Mirrorlure plug with his father, Jaime Nebot, on January 23, 2012 off of Isla delMuerto when the rod got hit. After a tough 20 minute fight, the youngerNebot had a 24.95 kg (55 lb) broomtail grouper (Mycteropercaxenarcha) to the boat, and a potential new male Smallfry record. The current IGFA record is 7.48 kg (16 lb 8 oz).

Kiwi angler Sue Tindale continues her onslaught of record submittals with this unique species she caught while fishing Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand on January 10, 2012. Using mullet for bait, Tindale needed 30 minutes to subdue a massive 50.7 kg (111 lb 12 oz) short-tailed stingray (Dasyatisbrevicaudatus). Sue was guided to her potential new All-Tackle record by her husband, IGFA Captain Scott Tindale. The current IGFA record is vacant.
   

Angler Gary Douglas Beach of Ocean City, Maryland, USA recently took a trip to Sebastian, Florida to target the area’s world-class inshore fishing. Fishing with Capt. Gus Brugger on February 22, 2012, Beach found what he came for – an impressive spotted seatrout (Cynoscionnebulosus) that he caught while casting a DOA Cal Jerkbait. Measuring 79 cm, Beach’s gator trout qualifies him for the potential new All-Tackle Length record, as the fish was released alive after the necessary photos and measurements were taken. The current IGFA record is 62 cm.




Smallfry Aussie angler Charlotte Moller was fishing with her family on February 18, 2012 in Australia’s Lake Tinaroo when she hooked into a 25.15 kg (55 lb 7 oz) barramundi (Latescalcarifer). Charlotte was able to land her impressive fish in 35 minutes under the watchful eye of her father and guide, Shane Moller. Charlotte’s fish ate a live baitfish under a float, and qualifies her for the potential female Smallfry record. The current IGFA record is 12.2 kg (26 lb 14 oz).
 

Angler Veronica Martinez de Sola ofGuayaquil, Ecuador landed this nice Pacific snook (Centropomus spp.) on February 18, 2012 while fishing with a live shrimp in Isla Puna, Ecuador. Weighing in at 2.27 kg (5 lb) after a quick 5 minute fight, Veronica’s catch qualifies her for the potential women’s 02 kg (4 lb) line class record. The current IGFA record is vacant.

Traveling from his hometown of Hilton Head, South Carolina, USA, angler Raz Reid recently experienced the amazing fishery in Panama. Fishing out of Boca Chica, Panama on February 27, 2012 with local guide Juan Martin Spragge, Reid landed a 5.47 kg (12 lb 1 oz) mullet snapper (Lutjanusaratus). Reid need 15 minutes to land his potential men’s 08 kg (16 lb) tippet class record after it ate a well presented Clouser Minnow. The current IGFA record is 2.94 kg (9 lb 8 oz)

IGFA Great Marlin Race on its Third Continent

As the IGFA Great Marlin Race prepares to begin on its third continent – Australia – co-chairs Jason Schratwieser of the IGFA and Dr. Randy Kochevar of Stanford University are already enthused about the outcomes. “These are the kind of results we dreamed about when we first launched the Great Marlin Race program back in 2009,” Kochevar has said.

They have good reason to be so excited: the last satellite tag to pop up from the first IGMR event in San Juan, Puerto Rico in September of 2011 surfaced 4,776 nautical miles from where it had first been deployed in a blue marlin. “This may be one of the longest, if not the longest, marlin tracks ever recorded on an electronic tag,” Kochevar continued. “To have a marlin swim from the Caribbean all the way across the Atlantic and across the Equator to Africa reminds us how much we still have to learn from them.”

The good news continued in February, when the IGMR took place during the South African Deep Sea Angling Association Classic. The first IGMR satellite tag ever to be deployed in the Southern hemisphere was sent out in a blue marlin by Riann Chalmers aboard Big W on the first fishing day. A second satellite tag was deployed by Eric Visser in another blue on the second fishing day, but rough conditions prevented more from going out during the event. Although the tournament has ended, local anglers will continue to deploy the tags until all of the sponsored tags are at sea.

The IGMR action is continuing this month in Australia during the Australian International Billfish Tournament and the Gamex Billfish Tournament. Updates can always be found at http://igmr.igfa.org.

 

IRELAND: 32.8 lb pike from Shannon river

Kevin Lyons of Melview Lodge Guest house in Longford Ireland was guiding Mark Whiteside and Kerry Hardy from Northern Ireland last weekend around the upper river Shannon and what a few days it turned out to be for all concerned. Fly, jerk  and dead baits all produced fish.

While Kevin was waiting for a take on his dead bait he set up another rod and started casting around, bouncing a Bull Dog off the bottom that produced a nice fish of 24lb 3oz. After that Kerry Hardy lost a good fish and 20 minutes later Kevin struck into sizeable pike. While unhooking the fish they found Kerry’s trace still in it’s jaws from 20 minutes earlier. We carefully took the fish to the bank for weighing,  and it came in at 32lb 8oz which is a personal best for Kevin who was over the moon and still shaking with excitement an hour later.

Melview Lodge
Drumlish Road, Clonrollagh, Longford, Co. Longford.
Email: info@melviewlodge.com Web: www.melviewlodge.com

COLOMBIA: 88 pound pacu

An 88-plus-pound pacu was cauhgt while fishing in Sinu, Colombia.The pacu, or as it's locally know the cachama, was taken back to his village, where Don Jose Molina Jalal Pliny has become a bit of a local hero.

NIGERIA: Giant manta hauled up on ship's anchor

A giant manta presumably was hauled up dead after becoming entangled in the anchor line of an oil-rig servicing ship off Nigeria's Bonny Island.
"The stinging Manta ray was killed when the oil rig servicing ship anchored at the middle of ocean near Bonny Island. The anchor of the ship brought the stinging ray up while the ship was about to sail. The stinging Manta ray was killed while resting at the ocean floor.
But guess what? It was sold to fishermen that was around when it was killed at the amount of five thousand naira only. It could have been preserved. My friend is one of the people on the ship deck."

ENGLAND: super size chub landed

In 2007, Andy Maker broke the highly sought after British record, landing a 9-pound, 5-ounce chub from a southern stillwater. At the beginning of March, rumors swirled that another angler, had tied Maker’s record. 
The record-tying fisherman is Neill Stephen, who was dunking a glob of cheese paste during the morning hours on the River Lea. The fish was recorded, held for the appropriate photos and then safely released back into the watershed.

USA ILLINOIS: record 15-pound walleye

Jim Zimmerman of Wisconsin caught what appears to be the largest walleye ever pulled from Illinois waters: a 15.08 pounder. That’s just a bit heavier than the record breaking fish that a 15-year-old Illinois freshman caught just two months ago.
Pending completion of the paperwork and verification, the fish Zimmerman pulled from the Pecatonica River on Sunday is just a bit heavier than the walleye Nick Tassoni pulled from the same river in January.

AUSTRALIA: giant 1295 lb tiger shark landed

The specimen was caught on the 3rd day of the 2012 Nautilus Boat Insurance Interclub Tournament. Weight:  587.50 kg ( ca. 1295 lbs ).
Angler Tristan Davis made his impressive catch aboard the boat ‘Topaz’ (Central Coast GFC). It ‘s the heaviest shark of the tournament.
The fishermen, who participated in this New South Wales Interclub competition, caught a total of 33 sharks ( 16 taken / 17 released ). But the main target species was the marlin with 267 reported specimens ( 13 taken / 254 released ).

USA TEXAS: Smallmouth buffalo record caught

Another ugly-fish record has fallen in Texas. Austin Anderson, 16, caught this 50-pound, 6-ounce smallmouth buffalo while fishing a tournament on Lake Fork in Texas. This nasty sucker is a potential International Game Fish Association Record for Junior anglers.
"When I landed the fish, I had no idea that it had any kind of record potential whatsoever, it just never dawned on me until Monday afternoon I got a call from  Jason Johonnesson confirming that it was indeed a record catch," Anderson told Pegasus News. "I still having a hard time believing that I actually broke the 50-pound mark. Just two weeks before, I broke a personal best on buffalo at 44 pounds, and here two weeks later it's broken again. Crazy really."
Anderson caught the fish in the Lake Fork Carp and Buffalo Challenge 2012, a 44-hour, catch and release tournament held earlier this month. The winning buffalo carp weighed in at 65 pounds.

www.pegasusnews.com

NEW ZEALAND: a world record fishing day

Nathan Adams and his friends were out on his boat in the New Zealand waters when the hauled in two record-sized fish, and several other prize fish.

The first confirmed record is a nearly 790-pound black marlin that set the Muriwai Sport Fishing Club records. But the real prize may be the near 740-pound Pacific bluefin tuna, which may be a new world record.


These weren't the only prize catches on the boat over the 11-day trip.

According to Stuff.Co.Nz, Jessie Wright, 16, caught five marlin, including a 301-pound marlin, which made her national junior striped marlin champion.


Her two older brothers won prizes too. Logan Wright was second in the champion line weight section with a 317.5-pound marlin caught on the same boat.

www.stuff.co.nz

USA TEXAS: new blue catfish record

It could very well be one for the history books. On March 1, 2012, using a rod and reel, Danny Miles, of Irving, caught the pending Lake Tawakoni record Blue Catfish.

With a certified scale, the fish weighed in at 82 pounds and measured 51 inches long. The gargantuan creature was also 28 inches in circumference.

According to Danny’s brother, Paul, the family isn’t new to ‘catfishing’ and the brothers regularly compete in local catfish tournaments.

Paul said his brother is a trophy catfish angler that practices CPR, which in this case stands for catch, photo and release.

So, if you’ve got the skills, you too can catch the very same fish, since it was released healthy back into Lake Tawakoni.

“He [Danny] understands how valuable a resource a catfish of this size is to the sport,” Paul stated in an email.

The catch isn’t an official record yet. The current record is 73 pound Blue Catfish caught in January of 2010.

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/

ARGENTINA: Kau Tapen Fishing Report

February 19th to 25th 2012

For our eighth week at Kau Tapen we welcomed the legendary group (Dick S. group) that has been coming at Kau Tapen since the beginning of the lodge. This trip for them at Kau Tapen is a must and they always enjoy their time here. Most of them are from United States of America and two of them from United Kingdom.

This group always come to enjoy the experience of being here and as you can guess they have plenty of stories about the lodge, how it started and their first sea run brown trout. It’s delightful to hear their stories and not only about the amazing Rio Grande but also on their fishing adventures in Russia, Canada, Iceland… They have been fishing at Kau Tapen for more than 20 years, and have their habits, their favourite pools and flies. It was great to share this week with this group. They are kinder than ever and are now more relaxed about the fishing and come more here to have a great time between friends, and catch a couple of nice fish as well.

The weather is quite cold for this time of the year, and the water temperature dropped to 6°C in the morning, reaching 8-9 °C in the afternoon. The summer seems to be gone and autumn is definitely here with some touches of early winter! We had some very cold nights with ice on the river bank and even forming on the rod holders at the end of some evening sessions! Due to this very cold weather and difficult fishing our guests spent some time in the river and sometimes stayed at the lodge. The lodge itself is such a nice place to be. They caught have already so many sea trout that they were chilling at the lodge when the weather was not so nice. They are not here to compete with each other or other anglers, or to make records but just to be at Kau Tapen Lodge and go out to enjoy themselves. They know they can catch some very big trout and become a part of history, one of the reasons they also come back every year since their first try. The Rio Grande is without any doubt the best sea trout fishery in the world in term of numbers, sizes and quality/healthy fish!

With these conditions, we had to adapt ourselves to every little change and find the right rigging. We started to fish with leeches even during the daytime as the cold water put the fish down at the bottom and we had to present the fly close with a rather slow swing. We used floating to intermediate lines with slow to very fast sink tips rigged with chartreuse or a black and silver leech. The buggers were working as well when the water temperature was a bit higher. The rigging of the week was without doubt the black and silver leech, on a Tip 4 sink tip with slow retrieve.

As usual our guests got some very nice fish with 3 fish over 20 pounds for 3 different guests and some nice fish between 10 to 20 pounds. Our top rod Chris caught a fair amount of fish going out every session and staying till dark, and got also one of the 20 pounders, biggest fish of the week. Well done Chris!



www.nervouswaters.com

USA: 75 lb flathead catfish caught

 

Simon caught the huge 75 lb flathead on Jan. 28th during the City Lake's fish salvage and Simon, along with friend James Brack, kept the fish alive in and aerated tank in order to donate it to Cabela's. The fish was placed in the large Cabela's aquarium last Thursday and hopes were that Augusta citizens would be able to enjoy seeing the fish for many years.

USA ARKANSAS: New largemouth bass record set

Almost 36 years to the day, Arkansas's largemouth bass state record has finally been broken. On Tuesday, Paul Crowder of Forrest City set the new record on Lake Dunn near Wynne. Crowder's lunker weighed 16 pounds 5 ounces, breaking the old record by just a single ounce.
Aaron Mardis of Memphis had held the state record since March 2, 1976. Mardis' 16 pound 4 ounce fish was caught on Mallard Lake near Manilla in Mississippi County.
Crowder broke the record on the afternoon of Feb. 28 using a plastic 6-inch Mann's jelly worm with a bullet sinker and plastic rattle in tequila sunrise. He was using an Enigma rod and reel combo purchased from Bass Pro Shops. Crowder caught the fish on Trilene 14-pound test line. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Fisheries Biologist Lee Holt certified the fish on a certified scale at Hayes Market in Wynne.



(source: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission)