Japanese angler Yoshihiro Hasegawa, of Toshima-Ku, Tokyo, guided by Akio Nakajima, was fishing out of Onahama, Japan on Sept. 24, when a potential men’s 37 kg (80 lb) line class record Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) hit the Phoenix lure he was trolling. Hasegawa landed the monstrous 239 kg (526 lb 14 oz) Pacific bluefin nearly three hours later. The current IGFA record is 223.8 kg (493 lb 6 oz) recorded off the Greymouth, New Zealand coast last year.
An enormous yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) crashed the bait of young angler Keith Brandner of Tenafly, New Jersey, USA, as he was fishing off Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, August 7. Guided by Hercules Marsella, Brander was free lining a live goggle eye when the 109.43 kg (241 lb 4 oz) yellowfin hit. The youngster had a brutal 1 hour and 45 minute fight to boat the potential IGFA male Junior record fish. The current IGFA record is 86.27 kg (190 lb 2 oz) documented off Barbados in 2006.
Samantha Vale, of Port Vila, Vanuatu, guided by Herve Picarda, was fishing off nearby Shepherd Island Sept. 12, when a dogtooth tuna (Gymnosarda unicolor) took the rainbow runner she was using for bait. Forty minutes later, Vale had the 61.8 kg (136 lb 3 oz) fish on board and started the documentation for a potential women’s 8 kg (16 lb) line class record. The current IGFA record is 26.4 kg (58 lb 3 oz) caught off Papua New Guinea 17 years ago.
Mark Hope, of Yungaburra, Queensland, Australia may break a 20 year old record after landing 26 kg (57 lb 5 oz) barramundi (Lates calcarifer) on Sept. 28, while fishing Lake Tinaroo, Australia. Hope’s potential 4 kg (8 lb) line class record barramundi fought for 55 minutes after hitting the live banded grunter Hope was using for bait. The current IGFA record is 22.2 kg, (48 lb 15 oz) from the continent’s South Alligator River, N.T., in 1990.
Sometimes the most unusual and biggest records can be found in ponds, lakes and tributaries as Gary Roberts, of Plantation, Florida, USA, discovered when fishing a local canal in Tamarac, Florida on October 5. Using dough bait nuggets for bait, Roberts got hit by a 24.95 kg (55 lb 0 oz) black pacu (Piaractus brachypomus) a species that is popular in freshwater aquariums. Roberts landed the potential IGFA All-Tackle record after a 10 minute fight. The current IGFA record is 19.95 kg (44 lb 0 oz) caught 10 years ago in nearby Ft. Lauderdale.
File this one under “angler beats his guide’s fishing record.” On July 24, James Hodgson, of Western Cape, South Africa, was guided by IGFA Representative Iain Nicolson, while fishing the Barra Do Dande, in Angola, Africa, when he landed a giant African threadfin (Polydactylus quadrifilis) for a potential men’s 10 kg (20 lb) line class record. Hodgson needed two hours to subdue the impressive yet aggressive 45.4 kg (100 lb 1 oz) fish after it hit the plastic shad he was using for bait. The current IGFA record is 37.1 kg (82 lb 14 oz) caught by Nicolson in 2004 from Angola’s Barra do Kwanza.
Also from Barra Do Dande, Angola, Africa, Carlos Alberto Leal Simoes, of Luanda, Angola, with guide Marcio de Oliveira Inocencio was casting top water poppers in the waters of the coastal town just north of the capital city on June 1, when a monster crevalle jack (Caranx hippos) exploded on Simoes’ lure. After a 15 min fight, Simoes landed a 30 kg (66 lb 2 oz) potential IGFA All-Tackle record fish. The current IGFA record is 26.5 kg (58 lb 6 oz) from Barra do Kwanza just south of Luanda 10 years ago.
George F. Pittman, Sr., of Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA, landed a potential IGFA All-Tackle shortnose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus) on October 12, while fishing on nearby Lake Contrary. He landed the 3.71 kg (8 lb 3 oz) fish in 10 minutes after it hit a dead carp he was using for bait. The current IGFA record is 3.21 kg (7 lb 1 oz) caught from Marlin City Lake, Texas in 2002.
Clementine Payne-Weeks, of Greenbrier, Ark., USA, may lay claim to a potential female IGFA Smallfry world record after catching a whiterock bass (Morone saxatitis x M. chrysops) on Oct. 14 from Greers Ferry Lake, Arkansas. Guided by Mathew Moran Clementine landed the 1.81 kg (4 lb 0 oz) fish using a live minnow for bait on the Ozark Mountain reservoir. Clementine needed only three minutes to land the bass. The current IGFA record is .96 kg, (2 lb 2 oz) recorded from Pennsylvania’s Gosling Lake in 1999.
