Will these World Record Fish ever be broken?

There are a bunch of world record fish that likely will never be broken.

In some cases records will remain safe due to new regulations. Take for example, Joey “Sturgeon King” Pallotta’s 468-pound white sturgeon that he caught out of Benicia, CA back in July of 1983. Since then, fishing regulations governing sturgeon up and down the West Coast include maximum size limits to ensure the big spawner females don’t get taken out of the gene pool.

In other cases, habitat degradation, development, pollution and over-harvest have all but wiped out the ability of some species to reach record class sizes anymore.

From monster great white sharks to Tuna the size of small cars and brook trout as long as your leg, here’s Field & Stream’s list of 15 (most likely) Unbreakable World Records.

The Koi from Hell!

Austin Anderson with his beach ball...er...record smallmouth buffalo
Everything in Texas is big…including the koi! Actually, this is a smallmouth buffalo (Ictiobus bubalus) from Lake Fork, Texas. Austin Anderson of Coppell, TX USA landed the 50-pound, 6-ounce beast while soaking a dough ball. The thing took 40 minutes to land and was released so it can get even more obese!

The catch qualifies the kid for both the IGFA male Junior record for the species as well as the 50-pound line class record.

Lake Michigan kicks out Potential World Record Brown Trout!!

Eric Haataja and Browntosaurus

Talk about super-sized! Check out his potential new All-Tackle Length Record for brown trout! This massive kpyed-up buck measured 38.2 inches (the current length record is 25.2 inches)and was caught in Milwaukee Harbour on Lake Michigan by Eric Haataja, who was casting a skirted jig.

The fight lasted 10 minutes…after which, Haataja snapped a couple quick pix and then released big daddy to go about his business. If approved, this will be the new length world record for browns. The length record is a fairly new catch and release category so that anglers can get recognized for trophy catches without killing the fish. Read more at IGFA.org

432.4-pound Yellowfin Tuna a New World Record?

Could this be the next world record for yellowfin?
This 90×62-inch yellowfin tuna was taken taken by Ron Tegland out of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and weighed nearly 30 pounds more than the current world record! We’ll have to see what develops with this story in the near future. Regardless of the outcome, that is one massive tuna!!

Read the whole story at my former longtime employers and good friends: WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS

Pending World Record fly-caught Alligator Gar

IGFA Photo

Though alligator gar get to be the size of submarines, this 62-pound, 8 ouncer looks to be the largest ever taken on 16-pound test tippet and a fly rod and is a pending IGFA line class record.

Martin Arostegui of Coral Gables, FL, who has compiled more world records than anyone else in IGFA history, caught the big fish on Texas’ Lake Livingston on August 22, 2011 while working with Captain Kirk Kirkland.

Thirty minutes after the fish struck his custom fly, Arostegui was able to land, weigh and release the fish alive. With this catch, he kicked the living stuffing out of the current IGFA record, which is 24 pounds, 13 ounces!