World record freshwater sunfish
Giant Redear Sunfish that Fought Like a Bass Is a New Arizona Record
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West-central Arizona’s sprawling Lake Havasu is a popular spot for boaters. The deep and clear, 19,000-acre reservoir on the Colorado River offers good fishing, and heavy boat traffic is something veteran anglers have learned to deal with.
“I was fishing with my fiancé Sarah Harris about mid-day, and we’d moved well out from shore because there were plenty of people trying for bedding panfish in shallower water,” Daniels tells
Outdoor Life
. “It was about midday, and I figured the bigger fish had moved out, so we eased about 100 yards off the bank.”
They were looking for fish along structure and near drop-offs with their Lowrance forward-facing-sonar, and Daniels finally noticed a large fish close to a creek mouth. It was holding on a flat near a sunken tree in 15 feet of water.
“It was a big sonar mark in deep water that I figured was a smallmouth bass,” explains the 42-year-old Phoenix resident. “I cast a micro jig with a small piece of earthworm attached to it with ultralight tackle. I let it sink to the bottom w
'Majestic' 3-ton sunfish sets a new world record for largest bony fish ever discovered
A gigantic, 3-ton sunfish recently discovered near a Portuguese island has set a new world record for the heaviest bony fish ever recorded, according to a new study.
The scale-tipping behemoth, known as a giant sunfish or bump-head sunfish (
Mola alexandrini
), was discovered on Dec. 9, 2021 as it floated lifelessly off the coast of Faial Island, in the Azores — a Portuguese group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. Local authorities scooped up the hefty carcass and took it back to port so it could be properly studied, according to a statement from the Atlantic Naturalist Association, a non-profit conservation and research organization based on Faial Island.
Researchers carried out a necropsy on the giant sunfish and detailed the results in a new study, published Oct. 11 in the
Journal of Fish Biology
. The humongous fish was around 12 feet (3.6 meters) tall and around 11 feet (3.5 m) long, and it weighed a hefty 6,049 pounds (2,744 kilograms), or approximately 3 tons (2.7 metric tons). The researchers also analyzed the sunfish's stomach contents and took samples of its DNA, ac
The freshwater fishing community around North America is buzzing off the recent news that a new world record Redear Sunfish (also known as
Shellcracker
) has been caught from famous Lake Havasu in Arizona.
The behemoth reportedly weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces, and was 17 inches long with a 20 inch girth.
WOW
!
New World Record Redear Sunfish
The lucky angler is Thomas Farchione of Waterford, Wisconsin. I had the privilege of doing an interview with Tom, and he was kind enough to share more details and photos of this once-in-a-lifetime catch.
The story begins when Tom and his wife Sue traveled from their home in Waterford, Wisconsin to Lake Havasu Arizona for a few weeks of fishing. They had planned on fishing for bass, and of course, try for the giant Redear Sunfish the lake is known for.
Tom has limited experience on Lake Havasu, having only fished the giant reservoir once previously. His best friend and fishing partner Gregg Gerstmeyer flew down for a few days to fish with him.
Typically, the Redear Sunfish spawn on Lake Havasu from mid-April to mid-May. However, Tom reported that water temperatures were still very cold, and most catches were out deep in 20-30 feet
The Biggest Panfish of All Time
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The term “panfish” dates back 200-plus years and simply refers to any fish that can fit into a pan. Depending on the size of your pan, that could be a pretty big fish. Today, the definition is a bit more specific, usually meaning a small, freshwater fish species cooked whole or filleted in a pan or skillet. Even the largest of some panfish species would still easily fit in the average skillet.
However, the individual fish we’re highlighting below are another story altogether. These are the true giants of the panfish world. So go find the biggest pan around, because we’ve rounded up the biggest panfish of all time, according to the “all-tackle records” recorded by the International Game Fish Association.
Bluegill: 4 pounds, 12 ounces
The current all-tackle bluegill record is held by T. Hudson, who caught a 4-pound 12-ounce fish on April 9, 1950 in Alabama’s Ketona Lakes. No other details about the catch are recorded by the IGFA, but subsequent stories say the fish was 15 inches long and had an incredible 18.25-inch girth.
Bluegills are found throughou