A book filled with fish stories proves not all the big ones get away

A book filled with fish stories proves not all the big ones get away

The annual IGFA World Record Game Fishes book arrived the other day, a January treat that can read like a telephone directory, yet stir a desire to round up the fishing rods and tackle and plan a fishing adventure.

Published each winter by the International Game Fish Association, it is a book of dreams. It lists thousands of freshwater and saltwater fishing records set by anglers around the world. Some of the angling records are within reach of Cleveland area fishermen.

The IGFA all-tackle category lists the heaviest game fish of each species. The line class marks are set according to the strength of the fishing line. For example, 10-pound test line is designed to break from the weight of lifting 10 pounds. For most freshwater fish listings, the line strengths range from 2- to 12-pound test.

There are separate saltwater and freshwater record lists for both regular and fly fishing tackle. The youth records are split into smallfry and junior categories for boys and girls 16 and under.


There are local anglers whose names are included in the bible of fishing.

The most recognizable mark belongs to Gus Gronowski of Parma, who caught his IGFA winner while trolling for walleye on LaDue Reservoir on Aug. 15, 1992. Gronowski vividly remembers the strike, the fight and a 37-pound, 10-ounce channel catfish coming to the net.

"It was a fishing trip I'll never forget," said Gronowski, still a regular on LaDue Reservoir. "I remember every minute of the experience. It was a wonderful morning because my wife, Lynn, was with me. A lot of fishermen still bust my chops, saying it was luck. I tell them the big fish was hooked by luck, but landed with skill."

It isn't the largest channel catfish in the IGFA book. The all-tackle record holder is a 58-pounder from South Carolina's Santee-Cooper Reservoir in 1964. On 12-pound line, however, Gronowski's big cat reigns supreme.

Not all of Ohio's best are in the IGFA book. Fred Sulek has the all-tackle IGFA record for a 12-pound, 13-ounce saugeye - a walleye-sauger hybrid - caught from Ohio's Clendening Reservoir on Nov. 19, 2001. The largest saugeye listed in the Ohio All-Tackle Records is a 14.04-pounder landed by Roger Sizemore of Orient, Ohio from Antrim Lake on Nov. 24, 2004.

Muskie anglers have battled to catch the biggest fish, leading to scandal over the years. Pete Provan's 40-pounder caught from Piedmont Lake in southeast Ohio on June 2, 1997 is a trophy, not a giant. But no one has done it better on light 8-pound test line, according to IGFA records. Ohioan Rodney Kelm set a 6-pound line record with a 4-pound, 3-ounce sauger caught from the Maumee River at Grand Rapids, Ohio.

Despite the many millions of walleye caught over the years from Lake Erie, Ohio walleye have failed to make the IGFA book. Ohio's heaviest, a 16.19-pound walleye caught by Tom "Blacky" Haberman of Brunswick from Lake Erie on Nov. 23, 1999, could have made it. If Haberman had spooled his spinning reel with 2- or 6-pound test line, he would have set a line class mark. The all-tackle mark is a legendary 25-pounder from Tennessee's Old Hickory Lake caught by Mabry Harper.

IGFA World Record Game Fishes is sent to members of the organization. Many join just to get the record book. The $40 annual dues include the record book, bi-monthly newsletter The International Angler, free admission to the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum in Dania Beach, Fla., a 60-inch fish measuring tape and IGFA decals.

The annual book has fishing stories by top angling writers, usually dominated by tales of salt water fishing to satisfy its core audience. There is information on how to enter a fish for the records, as well as application forms. The IGFA Species Identification, with illustrations and information of popular game fish, is a delight.

New in 2011 is IGFA's All-Tackle Length Record category for catch-and-release fishermen, with 60 freshwater and 67 saltwater categories.

For information or membership, visit igfa.org.


Think small and you could make the IGFA record book

Wander through the IGFA World Record Game Fishes and you'll be impressed by the size of the all-tackle winners. It's hard to visualize a 123-pound flathead catfish, 418-pound Atlantic halibut or a 1,376-pound blue marlin.


Think small, and you could see your name in the book.

An angler needs to go no further than Cleveland Harbor to bid for an IGFA mark, targeting chunky rock bass that could possible set a line class mark. Cleveland rock bass swimming around the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are known grow larger than IGFA record holders, which range from just under 2 pounds to 3 pounds. Also within reach in Ohio are records for green sunfish, redear sunfish, yellow perch and white perch.

Cast to them with a fly rod and the odds improve of setting an IGFA record. The freshwater fly rod records for yellow perch and rocky bass are mostly under 2 pounds, and not much larger for white perch. Nile perch are another matter. A 110-pounder was caught on a fly in 1994 in TanzaniaRead More ...

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