Alex Carson
Have you ever wondered what the biggest fish ever caught actually looked like?
Today we are going to look at some very real big fish tales, and these anglers, unlike your sensational co-workers or senile relatives – have the pics and records to prove it.
So get ready to be shocked and amazed by these majestic aquatic monstrosities.
We’ve made sure to only take a look at fish that have been approved as IGFA All-Tackle World Records.
As you assume – and you’d right by doing so –most of these giants come from the shark and Billfish families. There are some surprises sprinkled in that are sure to astound you. So, you stick around for the whole video especially if you want to see the biggest Swordfish you’ve ever seen in your life.
Goliath Grouper – 680 lbs
This bad boy was caught off the coast of Fernandina Beach, Florida back in 1961. Back in those days, Fernandina was well known for its goliath groupers. Unfortunately, their population has dwindled since then and in 1990, regulators made the decision to halt their harvest altogether. So it looks like this record isn’t going to be beaten anytime soon. This monster was caught by a fisherman by the name of Lynn Joyner using a Spanish Mackerel as bait.
Bull Shark – 697 lbs 12 ounces
This is a more recent catch than the last. Ronald De Jager caught this beast using a Yellowfin Tuna back in 2001 in Malindi, Kenya. When he took in his catch, he broke the previous record from 1994 by 12 ounces.
Dusky Shark – 764 lbs
In 1982 trolling a Bonito just off Longboat Key, Florida, Warren Girle had one of the best fishing days of his life. The look of this photo with his catch, he seems proud of himself – and rightfully so we might add.
Thresher Shark 767 lbs
Angler David Hannah had quite the day back in February of 1983. He took his boat out near the Bay of Islands in New Zealand to catch one of the biggest fish.
To catch a Thresher is not the easiest of feats either. It takes a decent bit of skill and strength to bring one in.
Hannah used a Kahawai Salmon as bait. It also took a great deal of patience and intuition on his part to grapple with his opponent. Threshers like to bash the hook and bait with their big muscular tails before moving in for their kills, so bringing in one this size is all the more so extraordinary.
Bigeye Thresher Shark – 802 lbs
If you thought that David Hannah’s Thresher Shark catch was impressive, then wait until you see what Dianne North of Tutukaka, New Zealand caught a couple of years prior in 1981. She too used a kahawai salmon as bait and she wrestled with the creature for a grand total of three hours and 45 minutes before she finally brought it in.
Can you imagine how exhausted she must have been? The fascinating thing is that David Hannah’s catch in 83 and Dianne’s in 81 were only roughly 30 miles away from one another.
Pacific Bluefin Tuna – 907 lbs 6 oz
Another epic catch from a Kiwi took place on February 19, 2014, in Three Kings Islands, New Zealand.
Donna Pascoe fought with the giant sea dweller for well over 4 hours and to top that off, the weather was pretty troubling at the time as well.
Can you imagine how many Tuna steaks that thing could yield? It could feed a cat for 1000 lifetimes.
Swordfish 1,182 lbs
Some records aren’t meant to be broken – or at least they haven’t been topped yet. Such is the case of Lou Maron’s almost legendary catch back in 1953 in Iquique Chile. It was some 67 years ago but the record still stands today. Lou reeled in a 14-foot Swordfish using a live Bonito as bait that weighed a mind-boggling 1,182 lbs. Its bill alone was nearly 4 feet in length.
Shortfin Mako Shark – 1,221 lb
A younger angler by the name of Luke Sweeney caught this behemoth back in July of 2001 during the Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament in Chatham, Massachusetts. Needless to say, Mr. Sweeney won the competition. Interestingly, he was onboard the tiniest boat of the entire tournament – a 24 foot World Cat – when he took in his prize. He wrestled with the shark for 3 hours before he managed to bring the half-ton heavyweight to the scales.
Great Hammerhead Shark – 1,280 lb
The lucky angler and charter captain Bucky Dennis had quite the fight on his hands when he hooked this 14 and a half foot hammerhead off the coast of Boca Grande, Florida in 2006.
He explained how he didn’t normally go after shark and that Snook and Tarpon were more of his desired catch, but when the Tarpon find their way to Boca Grande, then so do the hammerheads in search of an easy meal.
He caught this giant creature using a stingray as bait, and he pointed out that it pulled his vessel 12 miles into the Gulf during the fight.
Sixgill Shark – 1298 lb
Caught in the British waters of Ascension Island by the angler Clemens Ramp, this rare shark put up quite the struggle.
They aren’t the kind of fish that most fishermen are used to seeing even though they are found all throughout the world.
This leviathan of a catch was reeled in on November 21, 2002.
Pacific Blue Marlin – 1376 lb
On May 31, 1982, in beautiful Kona, Hawaii at a place called Kaaiwi Point, Jay De Beaubien took in the biggest catch of his life. And to top that off, he managed to bring in this godlike sea monster in less than one hour. He used a live Kila lute as the bait just in case your keeping track of that kind of thing.
He almost lost his record too when in 2015 another angler caught a Blue Marlin that weighed an equally amazing 1,368 lbs off the very same coastline.
If you think that’s impressive, then you should wait to see the black marlin that was caught in 1953. Stick around, we’ll get to that in a minute.
But first, do us a quick favor and give this video a like if you’re enjoying what you’re seeing so far. Subscribe to our channel and tap the bell icon to turn on notifications so you can keep up with all of our latest facts-packed videos.
Atlantic Blue Marlin – 1,402 lb 2 oz
This one was caught off the coast of Vitoria, Brazil back in February of 1992.
Look how impressed that guy looks. He’s grinning from ear to ear! His name is Paulo Amorim and he caught this remarkably giant billfish trolling a Mold craft lure.
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna – 1496 lb
This is just about the biggest tuna we’ve ever seen. This fish is truly a sight to see.
Ken Frazer caught this baby back in 1979 and since then his record has yet to be toppled. Much of that has to do with the fact that bluefins are much more tightly regulated these days due to over-fishing and dwindling populations.
Ken took this wonder of a fish in Auids Cove in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Black Marlin – 1560 lb
We kind of teased you about this one earlier. The late and great legendary angler Alfred C. Glassell Jr. nabbed this absolutely shooking catch back in 1953. It’s a record that also still stands to this day making it one of the longest-running IGFA world records on the books. It doesn’t look like this record is going to beat any time soon either.
Glassell, who was a prominent Houston area businessman and philanthropist was also widely known for his love affair with large game fish. He wasn’t just into catching them just for sport but he also supported their research and conservation.
In his career, he caught several monstrously large fish. Today this black marlin and over 40 other preserved specimen of fish that he caught are on display in the permanent collection of the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
Greenland Shark – 1,708 lb 9 oz
Terje Nordvedt caught his graceful being using a herring off the coast of Trondheimsfjord, Norway in 1987. This ended up being one of the only times in history that people were able to see the longest living vertebrate creature up on dry land. These majestic creatures have a lifespan of longer than 400 years. It almost calls into question whether we should fish them in the first place.
Tiger Shark – 1,785 lb 11 oz
This one comes from Ulladulla, Australia. Kevin Clapson was pretty annoyed when his giant catch was weighed back in 2004. He thought for sure that he had just broken a record that had been held for 40 years. But since his Tiger shark only weighed 11 ounces more than Walter Maxwell’s previous record-setting catch from 1964, the judges at the IGFA ruled that he had tied the record.
White Shark – 2,664 lb
Alfred Dean broke every record in the book when he caught this giant great white in Ceduna, Australia. Fortunately, his record is definitely here to stay and that’s not a bad thing. Great whites are protected by conservation laws nearly everywhere in the world. That just means that more of these majestic, beautiful, and awe-inspiring creatures will be roaming the waters throughout the world for many years to come.
Well, that wraps up our look at some of the 17 biggest fish ever caught. Can you imagine hauling one of these astonishing organisms back to the scales?
We’d love to hear from you. Which one of these catches do you find to be the most amazing? Was it Alfred Dean’s 1959 great white or maybe that Giant Black Marlin from Peru?
Let us know what you think in the comments section.
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Be safe out there. We know you’d rather be fishing right now.
