Guided by IGFA Certified Captain Alberto Bartoli and using shrimp for bait, Roberto Godi of Arcole Veroma, Italy landed a potential IGFA All-Tackle record after catching a wels (Silurus glanis) on February 5. The giant fish weighed 113.5 kg (250 lb 3 oz) which Godi caught while fishing Italy’s River Po. He said the fish fought for 45 minutes before he was able to pull it to shore onto a smooth surfaced mat where it was weighed, photographed and released alive. The current IGFA record is 242 lb 8 oz (110 kg) caught February 2009 also from the River Po.

Thomas M. Evans Jr. of Grafton, Vermont, USA, guided by Al Dopirak, landed a huge tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) on May 10 while fishing a brown toad fly off Pine Island, Florida, USA near Ft. Myers. This potential men’s 6 kg (12 lb) tippet record took two hours and ten minutes to land and weighed in at 88.22 kg (194 lb 8 oz). The current IGFA record is 177 lbs (80.28 kg) recorded off Homosassa, Florida in May, 1994.

Multi-IGFA world record holder Sean Konrad of Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada, landed a burbot (Lota lota) in 20 minutes on March 27 while fishing Lake Diefenbaker, Saskatchewan, Canada. His potential IGFA All-Tackle record fish weighed in at 11.4 kg (25 lb 2 oz) and was caught using herring as bait. Konrad is hoping to beat his own current IGFA record after recording a 19 lb 1 oz burbot in March 2008 from the same lake.

Using very thin tippet while fly fishing near Nelson, Australia, a border town located at the mouth of the Glenelg River in the south western corner of the state of Victoria, fly caster Frank Bluch of Corio, Victoria, landed a 2.15 kg (4 lb 12 oz) meagre (Argyrosomus spp.) on April 25. Bluch was using a yellow rabbit streamer tied to 1 kg (2 lb) tippet to catch a potential men’s saltwater flyfishing record. The current IGFA record is vacant for the recently added species.

From Western Australia, Rhys Clatworthy landed a golden trevally (Gnathanodon speciosus) on March 26 while fishing out of his home town of Exmouth. This potential men’s IGFA 3 kg (6 lb) line class record, which is currently vacant, took one hour to land and weighed in at 11.3 kg (24 lb 14 oz).

A new record species might be added to the IGFA record books after avid world traveling angler Steven M. Wozniak of San Ramon, Calif., USA, landed a sicklefish (Drepane punctuata) on April 18 while fishing Ponggol Marina, Singapore. The potential IGFA All-Tackle record was caught on a peeled prawn and weighed in at .68 kg (1 lb 8 oz).

Junior angler Ann Louise Voelz of Lafayette, Indiana, USA, guided by Captain Kevin Wright, landed a spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus) on March 24, while fishing blueback herring on Lake Lanier, Georgia, USA. The fish weighed 2.35 kg (5 lb 3 oz) after a 10 minute fight, and qualifies as the potential IGFA female smallfry record. The current IGFA record is vacant.

Japanese angler Junichi Inada of Amagasaki-Shi Hyodo, may have landed a potential All-Tackle record nigoi (Hemibarbus barbus) during a fishing trip on April 26 in Mogawa, Japan. He caught the fish which weighed 3 kg (6 lb 9 oz) after a six minute fight, using red swamp crawfish for bait. The current record is 5 lb 5 oz (2.7 kg) documented in May 2007 from the Tone River in Gunma, Japan.

Lance Erik Peterson of Port Angeles, Washington, USA, may break a 12-year old IGFA fly rod record after landing a 22 kg (48 lb 8 oz) roosterfish (Nematistius pectoralis) on May 16 while fishing from the shore of Cabo del Este, Mexico. His fish put up a 45 minute fight after hitting Peterson’s Mona-Lisa fly, and qualifies for the men’s 6 kg (12 lb) tippet world record. The current IGFA tippet record is 41 lb 8 oz (18.82 kg) taken from the waters off Morro Del Potosi in Zihuatanejo, Mexico in April 1998.

Using very light line and lots of finesse while fishing in the Florida Keys, USA, Charlotte A. Sampson of Ocean City, Maryland, USA, landed a lemon shark (Carcharhinidae family) a member of the whaler shark family. She made the catch on April 10 while fishing Summerland Key. Her potential women’s 1 kg (2 lb) line class record weighed in at 31.75 kg (51 lb 0 oz). The shark hit a piece of false albacore and took 40 minutes to land. After documenting and photographing she released the fish alive. The current IGFA record is 11.11 kg (24 lb 8 oz) recorded in May 2007 from the Content Keys.

Smallfry angler Jason Ackerman of Moscow, Ohio, USA, guided by Captain Darryl Smith, landed a 17.12 kg (37 lb 12 oz) flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) on March 31, while fishing Lake Moultrie, South Carolina, USA. This potential male smallfry record fish took five minutes to land after hitting a cut gizzard shad the youngster was using for bait. The current IGFA record is 16.1 kg (35 lb 8 oz) taken from the same lake two years ago.