We may never really know precisely what the biggest fish ever caught was \u2014 or who caught it, or where. The world\u2019s waters are deep and mysterious places, and the best fishermen are good at keeping secrets. That\u2019s just one reason why any modern list of the world\u2019s biggest catches includes some caveats.<\/p>\n
If we\u2019re basing this list off size alone, we\u2019d have to consider the 2-ton whale shark that Chinese commercial fishermen reportedly netted by accident<\/a> in 2014. But then we\u2019d also have to include the 661-pound giant stingray that some angler-researchers tagged in Cambodia in 2023, and which edged out the previous Guinness World Record<\/a> for the largest freshwater fish ever caught. There are also plenty of huge fish that have been caught illegally and kept a secret, or caught and released and never recognized. (More on this in a minute.)<\/p>\n So, for the sake of keeping things simple, <\/em>our official list of the biggest fish ever caught will only include world-record sportfish that were caught with a rod-and-reel and certified by the International Game Fish Association<\/a>. These are fish caught by just one angler, who followed all the universally-agreed upon fishing rules<\/a>, and who took the time to submit their catches to the organization for record-book consideration. In addition to listing the five biggest fish of all time, all of which were reeled in from the ocean, we\u2019ll also look at the biggest freshwater fish ever caught. Finally, we\u2019ll round out the list of the biggest fish ever caught with a few honorable mentions, including some of the most highly-prized game fish species in North America.<\/p>\n The IGFA has been keeping track of the world\u2019s sportfishing records since it was founded in 1939. Its record book<\/a> is constantly updated and contains nearly every species of sportfish ever hooked on planet Earth. The IGFA recognizes line-class records, which are based on the breaking strength of the fishing line used, along with catch-and-release records, in which fish are measured by length and must be released alive. Then there\u2019s the holy grail of traditional fishing records: the all-tackle world records, which honor the heaviest fish ever caught with a rod-and-reel. To be considered in this category, all potential record fish must be weighed on a certified scale, and they\u2019re often killed in the process.<\/p>\n This is where record-keeping gets a bit complicated, as some anglers today would rather release their fish of a lifetime than be remembered for killing it. Take Captain Chip Michalove, for example. In 2022 he caught and released a giant hammerhead shark<\/a> off the coast of South Carolina. It would have easily crushed the state record, and it very well could have beat out the all-tackle world record caught 16 years prior, but he didn\u2019t care about either.<\/p>\n Photograph courtesy of Scott Enloe<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Then there\u2019s Scott Enloe, the Colorado angler who caught and released the new state-record lake trout in 2023 while fishing with his son on Blue Mesa Reservoir. His laker also outweighed the all-tackle world record<\/a> by roughly a pound, according to his hand scale. But since confirming the weight would have meant killing the fish (it wouldn\u2019t fit in his live well), he chose to photograph and release it instead. Enloe told Outdoor Life <\/em>in May that he would try to get the fish certified by the IGFA as an all-tackle world record anyway, but it still hasn\u2019t been accepted.<\/p>\n \u201cI could have made it easy to put in the [IGFA] book, but I would have had to kill it, and I was not going to kill that fish,\u201d Enloe said. \u201cI would love to have the world record, and it is <\/em>the world record. But if we don\u2019t get it \u2026 I know what I caught, my son knows what I caught, and I\u2019m okay with that.\u201d<\/p>\n Read Next:<\/strong> Are Record Fish Stories as Captivating as They Used to Be?<\/a><\/p>\n So, as you read the following entries, just keep in mind that some of the biggest fish ever caught got away from the record books, making them difficult to track accurately here.<\/p>\n Looking specifically at the IGFA\u2019s list of all-tackle world records, the biggest fish ever caught (by far) was a great white shark. Rounding out the Top 5 are four other saltwater species that all topped 1,000 pounds. No. 4 and No. 5 also happen to be two of the world\u2019s most sought-after saltwater game fish, while sharks occupy the other top spots.<\/p>\n Photo courtesy IGFA<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n True giants of the deep, bluefin tuna are sleek, fast, and powerful. Speaking from experience, they fight harder than just about any other fish in the ocean. Their meat is also one of the most sought-after delicacies in the sushi world, giving them the rare distinction of being the most expensive edible fish on Earth. In 2019, a 613-pounder caught in Japan sold for $3.1 million<\/a> at auction.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The largest bluefin tuna ever caught<\/a>, according to the IGFA record book, weighed more than twice that. Caught by Ken Fraser in Nova Scotia waters in 1979, it tipped the scales at 1,496 pounds.<\/p>\n Photo courtesy IGFA<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Marlin have everything you\u2019d ever want in a game fish. They grow huge and fight like hell. They\u2019re also a feast for the eyes with their beautifully-colored sides and pointed bills. Black marlin are the largest species in the marlin family. (Blue marlin are a close second, coming in just behind bluefin tuna at No. 6 in the IGFA\u2019s book.)\u00a0<\/p>\n The biggest black marlin ever caught<\/a> is also the fourth heaviest fish ever caught, according to the IGFA. It weighed 1,560 pounds and was caught in Cabo Blanco, Peru, in 1953 by Alfred Glassell Jr.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Photo courtesy IGFA<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Coming in at No. 3 on the list is a Greenland shark, a lesser-known species that lives in the Arctic Ocean and is rarely seen by most anglers. These sharks are also the longest-living vertebrates in the world, reaching ages between 250 and 500 years old.\u00a0<\/p>\n The all-tackle world record Greenland shark<\/a> was caught in Norway in 1987 by Terje Nordtvedt. The shark ate a herring fished on the bottom, and it tipped the scales at 1,708 pounds 9 ounces.<\/p>\n Photo courtesy IGFA<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The second largest fish ever caught and certified by the IGFA is a tiger shark. Along with great white sharks<\/a> and bull sharks, this species rounds out what some call the \u201cBig Three\u201d \u2014 the three shark species most likely to attack a human.\u00a0<\/p>\n The all-tackle world record tiger shark<\/a> weighed 1,785 pounds 11 ounces. It was caught in Australian waters in 2004 by Kevin James Clapson.<\/p>\n Photo courtesy IGFA<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The biggest great white shark ever caught<\/a> weighed 2,664 pounds and was landed off Australia\u2019s southern coast in 1959. Alfred Dean reeled in the monster shark on 130-pound test. He used a porpoise for bait. <\/p>\n This is also one of the more interesting fishing records for the simple fact that it will likely never be broken \u2014 at least, not anytime soon. Great white sharks are now a protected species in most of the world\u2019s oceans. They\u2019re federally protected in U.S. waters<\/a>, and it\u2019s illegal to harvest them in many other places as well, which means they\u2019re no longer accepted by the IGFA as potential world-record fish. You also can\u2019t get away with using porpoises or dolphins for bait these days, as it\u2019s against the law in both U.S.<\/a> and Australian<\/a> waters to catch, kill, or otherwise harass these species.<\/p>\n Giant stingrays aside, the biggest freshwater fish ever caught, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, was a 646-pound Mekong giant catfish. A team of fisherman in Thailand landed the fish after an hour-long battle, according to National Geographic<\/em><\/a>. And although they tried to keep it alive, it died and was eaten by local villagers. Since the IGFA doesn\u2019t recognize fish that were landed by multiple anglers (the rules dictate that only one person can touch the rod during the battle), we\u2019ll move down the list to another giant catfish species that\u2019s native to Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n The largest freshwater catfish ever caught on a rod-and-reel and certified by the IGFA was a 297-pound 9-ounce Wels catfish<\/a>. European angler Attila Zsedely caught the all-tackle world record Wels from Italy\u2019s River Po in 2010.<\/p>\n In 2023, Italian angler Alessandro Biancardi caught and released a massive Wels catfish<\/a> from the same river that was bigger, lengthwise, than Zsedely\u2019s fish. Biancardi\u2019s fish measured 285 centimeters, while Zsedley\u2019s measured 245 centimeters. This has led some to speculate that Biancardi\u2019s catfish could have weighed upward of 300 pounds, which would have easily replaced Zsedeley\u2019s record. But since Biancardi released the fish alive instead of bringing it to a certified scale, we\u2019ll never know for sure.<\/p>\n Some of the other biggest record catfish from around the world<\/a> include another Mekong giant catfish that was caught in Thailand in 2010 and was later certified by the IGFA. That fish<\/a> weighed 260 pounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n The biggest record catfish ever caught in North America was a blue catfish<\/a> that weighed 143 pounds. Richard Nicholas Anderson caught the big blue cat in 2011 while fishing Kerr Lake in Virginia.\u00a0<\/p>\n We couldn\u2019t make a proper list of the biggest fish ever caught without including a few of North America\u2019s most beloved game fish. Starting with the biggest species, we\u2019ll work our way from giant sturgeon down to black bass.<\/p>\n The white sturgeon occupies a unique place on this list because it\u2019s an anadromous fish that lives in both salt- and freshwater. Along with the eight other members of the sturgeon family, these ancient fish are true dinosaurs. Scientists believe they\u2019ve been around for about 200 million years. However, many of these species are now considered endangered due to overfishing for the caviar trade.<\/p>\n White sturgeon are the largest species in this family, and they\u2019re faring a little better than some of their cousins. They can still be caught in some larger rivers on the West Coast (including the Snake and Columbia Rivers), but they must be released alive. Which means the all-tackle world record for the species should stand for some time. That record sturgeon<\/a> weighed 468 pounds, and was caught in a California bay in 1983.<\/p>\n Another living dinosaur, alligator gar are a prehistoric species and the largest members of the gar family. Until fairly recently, these toothy critters were vilified by anglers as a trash fish<\/a> that ate more desirable game fish like bass and crappie. Because of this negative perception \u2014 one that fisheries biologists have now debunked \u2014 they were killed throughout their native range and even eradicated from some areas.<\/p>\n This attitude has come full circle, with anglers now targeting these freshwater giants in Texas and other parts of the South as gamefish in their own right. The all-tackle world record alligator gar<\/a> was caught in the Lone Star State in September 2023; it weighed 283 pounds. Amazingly, the angler who reeled in the world-record fish did so using 6-pound test. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Known as \u201cthe fish of 10,000 casts,\u201d<\/a> muskellunge (better known as muskies) are notoriously difficult to hook and land, which makes them one of the most prized sportfish on the continent. Muskies are the largest members of the Esox <\/em>family, which includes pike and pickerel.<\/p>\n The all-tackle world record muskie<\/a> was caught in Wisconsin\u2019s Lake Court Oreilles back in 1949. It weighed 67 pounds 8 ounces and ate a hard-bodied crankbait. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Photo courtesy IGFA<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Chinook (or king) salmon are the largest of the world\u2019s salmonids. Like sturgeon, these are anadromous fish that are born in the river, go out to sea, and return to the river to spawn. Sadly, this noble, ocean-going species is on the decline throughout its native range, with many runs listed as threatened or endangered.<\/p>\n The all-tackle world record Chinook salmon<\/a> came from the Kenai River in Alaska, and it weighed 97 pounds 4 ounces. Angler Les Anderson caught the fish drifting a spin-n-glo.<\/p>\n North American anglers love catching trout, and the continent is now home to more than a dozen species, subspecies, and hybrids. This includes native fish like cutthroat and rainbow trout, along with the European brown trout that were introduced here during the late 19th century.<\/p>\n The largest of these species is the lake trout, which, like brook trout, are technically in the char family. Because of their gargantuan size, \u201clakers\u201d have been widely introduced outside of their native range \u2014 which includes Canada, Alaska, the Great Lakes, and New England. The all-tackle world-record laker<\/a>, according to IGFA, weighed 72 pounds and was caught in Canada\u2019s Northwest Territories. As mentioned above, there\u2019s a good chance that bigger lakers have been caught but never recognized by the organization.<\/p>\n Photo courtesy IGFA<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Far surpassing trout in terms of overall popularity, largemouth bass are widely considered North America\u2019s favorite gamefish. The biggest member of the black bass family, largemouths have been stocked by fish and game agencies across the country, and they can now be caught in pretty much every U.S. state outside of Alaska.<\/p>\n Not surprisingly due to their popularity, the largemouth bass record<\/a> is one of the most coveted records in the angling world. The IGFA currently lists two bucketmouths as tied for the No. 1 spot<\/a>, and they each weighed 22 pounds 4 ounces. The first world record was caught by George Perry in Georgia\u2019s Montgomery Lake back in 1932, but that\u2019s about all we know about it. Very few details exist about Perry\u2019s catch and there are no known photos of the fish. The more recent world record was caught from a lake in Japan in 2009 by Manabu Kurita.<\/p>\n Read Next: <\/strong>The Best Bass Lures<\/a><\/p>\n Striped bass are another beloved bass species that are targeted by saltwater anglers up and down the East Coast. There are also healthy populations of landlocked stripers in the U.S., but they don\u2019t grow quite as large as their saltwater counterparts. The world-record striped bass<\/a> was caught in Long Island Sound in 2011. It weighed 81 pounds 14 ounces.<\/p>\n It depends on how we define the word \u201cstrongest.\u201d It\u2019s also fairly subjective. But if you were to take a survey among the saltwater anglers who regularly target some of the biggest fish in the ocean, most of them would probably say bluefin tuna. These fish have a reputation for making deep, blistering runs that\u2019ll wear out even the toughest of anglers.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n This is another question that could generate a never-ending debate among anglers. When it comes to fishing in freshwater, steelhead (a rainbow trout that runs to the ocean and back) and muskies are some of the most difficult fish to catch. A list of the hardest fish to catch in saltwater would likely include marlin, sailfish, and other members of the billfish family, along with permit and Giant Trevally.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nA Note on Fishing Records<\/h2>\n
The Top 5 Biggest Fish Ever Caught<\/h2>\n
Bluefin Tuna \u2013 No. 5<\/h3>\n
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Black Marlin \u2013 No. 4<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/biggest_fish_ever_wr_black_marlin.jpg?w=875\")
Greenland Shark \u2013 No. 3<\/h3>\n
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Tiger Shark \u2013 No. 2<\/h3>\n
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Great White Shark \u2013 No. 1<\/h3>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/biggest_fish_ever_wr_great_white_shark.jpg?w=650\")
The Biggest Freshwater Sportfish Ever Caught<\/h2>\n
Wels, the King of Catfish<\/h3>\n
![\"world](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01\/world_record_wels_river_po_italian_angler.png?w=1604\")
Honorable Mentions<\/h2>\n
The Biggest Sturgeon<\/h3>\n
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The Biggest Gar<\/h3>\n
![\"texas](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/11\/texas_gator_gar_world_record.jpg?w=2000\")
The Biggest Muskie<\/h3>\n
The Biggest Salmon<\/h3>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/biggest_fish_ever_wr_chinook_salmon.jpg?w=2000\")
The Biggest Trout<\/h3>\n
The Biggest Bass<\/h3>\n
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Biggest Fish Ever Caught FAQs<\/h2>\n
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