Huge Halibut From Shore! On October 25th angler Simon Smith was fishing from the shoreline of northern Norway when something big crushed the herring he was fishing on the bottom. After fighting the fish for 40 minutes, Smith was miraculously able to subdue the massive Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) that tipped the scales at 50.5 kg (111 lb 5 oz). If approved, Smith’s incredible catch will earn him the new men’s 15 kg (30 lb) line class record, which currently stands at 37.75 kg (83 lb 3 oz).
Pyramid Lake, located in Nevada, USA, is home to some of the best cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) fishing in the world – easily confirmed by a look at the current records. Angler James Schmid recently took advantage of this great fishery, by landing the potential new men’s 6 kg (12 lb) tippet class world record. Schmid was fishing Pyramid Lake on November 14th and needed 20 minutes to land the 6.8 kg (15 lb) trout after it ate the bead head fly he was casting. Once landed, the fish was quickly documented and released alive. The current world record is 5.02 kg (11 lb 1 oz).
The rich waters off Nova Scotia are home to the largest tuna on the planet. Junior angler Ben Bruce experienced the incredible fishery firsthand on September 18th while fishing out of North Lake, Nova Scotia with his father Jamie Bruce. An hour after his bait, a live mackerel, was inhaled by a hungry bluefin, Bruce somehow managed to land a 394 kg (868 lb 9 oz) giant using 60 kg (130 lb) tackle. If approved, Bruce’s record will become the new male Junior record, which currently stands at 346.6 kg (764 lb 3 oz).
During an expedition to the famed Marie River, deep in Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest, female American angler Jimmie Rascoe landed one of the biggest speckled peacock (Cichla temensis) ever recorded by the IGFA on fly tackle. Rascoe was casting a large streamer fly with guide Gerson Kavamoto when the massive peacock hit. After a tough five minute battle, Rascoe had the fish subdued – a 8.02 kg (17 lb 11 oz) peacock that could potentially earn her the new women’s 10 kg (20 lb) tippet class record. After properly documenting her catch, Rascoe released the fish alive. The current IGFA record is vacant.
www.igfa.org
