October’s newly certified world records by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) has a wide array of fish species that have bettered the best of some records tallied by the Florida-based organization.
Many of the fish were caught earlier this year, because approval by IGFA takes time. The agency may have to verify fish lengths, weights, certification, and witness procedures, plus lines and leaders also must be tested and verified by the organization for some records.
It can be a lengthy process, but a necessary one to maintain the high standards of the organization for recognizing new world records.
Redtail Catfish
Last Aug. 12 angler Antonia Molinari landed a huge redtail catfish (pirarara) in Brazil’s Xingu River to set an IGFA length record for the species at 54.72 inches. He caught the fish using live bait and recorded the fish on an official IGFA “measuring device” to qualify it for a world length record. After measuring the pirarara, Molinari released it back into the Xingu River.
While Molinari’s redtail catfish was not weighed, the current IGFA All-Tackle World Record for the species scaled 123-pounds, 7-ounces and measured 55.43 inches long. That fish was caught by in 2010, also in Brazil, by angler Gilberto Fernandes
At less than an inch in length from the world record all-tackle weight mark, Molinari’s redtail catfish surely is one of the biggest of the species ever caught.
Sankomenuke
Yuuma Nishino was fishing very deep water near Manazuru, Japan on May 11, 2022 when she hooked and fought for 40 minutes an IGFA All-Tackle record sankomenuke. The fish weighed 10-pounds, 9-ounces, and topped the old record by nearly two pounds.
Sakomenuke are a bottom-dwelling species that can bury into the ocean floor, much like flounder. They’re common in Japanese waters and have been documented as deep as 1,600 feet.
Muskie
Meredith McCord is something of an IGFA fishing phenomenon, with 241 IGFA records to her total credit, and a current IGFA record count of 110 for 52 different fish species from 10 different countries.
Her most recent IGFA-approved fishing record is a 17-pound, 9-ounce muskie caught on Aug. 17 from Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada. The fish tops the IGFA Women 16-pound line class world record for the species. She used a Mepps #5 “Giant Killer” lure to land the prized musky quickly, weighed it on an IGFA certified Boga Grip, and released it safely back into Lake of the Woods. Her new record musky was 38.63-inches long, with an 18-inch girth.
Sheefish
Dr. Jan Forszpaniak is an IGFA representative with a long history of catching world record fish in many different locations. Last Aug. 10 he was on the Alaska’s Hunt River where he caught and released several inonnu (sheefish), including one on fly tackle measuring 35.4-inches, to claim the All-Tackle Length Fly World Record for the species.
The hard-fighting and high-leaping sheefish is chiefly an anadromous coastal fish species, found in Alaska from the Kuskokwim River (Bering Sea drainage) north, throughout the Yukon River into Canada as well as the MacKenzie River. However, it occurs in many inland lakes where it has become strictly a freshwater fish, which includes Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes in Canada’s Northwest Territories. It’s also found in parts of Asia, including the Caspian Sea.
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Filefish
Yukihiro Sakamoto also is a veteran IGFA record holder, who has tallied 166 records for 99 different fish species from Japan in just 10 years. Currently, 105 of those IGFA records are still world marks. His most recent catch of a 5-pound scrawled filefish on June 19 of this year sets the IGFA All-Tackle World Record for the species.
Yukihiro was fishing in Yakushima, Japan with a small piece of natural bait. Following a quick fight he was able to land this record fish, make a few quick photos, record the filefish’s weight on certified scales and then released it. Scrawled filefish also are known as scribbled leatherjacket filefish, and are found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters.
