10 Record-Breaking Fish from 2024

10 Record-Breaking Fish from 2024

One of the greatest attractions to fishing is the element of chance—the chance that, on any given day, one may encounter a fish of epic proportions. Whether it’s a 50-pound striped bass in the surf, a double-digit trout through a hole in the ice, or a jumbo mahi-mahi in the canyons, intriguing stories of man versus fish entice us to persist in our pursuit of a trophy, hoping that one day, we will cross paths with a fish of record-breaking caliber. Here are ten record-breaking fish from 2024 to keep those hopes alive as the 2025 fishing season begins. 

Saltwater Records

Rhode Island State-Record Tautog

(Photo courtesy of Capt. Rob Taylor / Newport Sportfishing Charters)

For Captain Rob Taylor of Newport Sportfishing Charters, the hunt for extra-large tautog is much more than a game of chance. Based on conditions, location, and the time of the season, Taylor adjusts both his tackle and approach to put his charters in the best position for success. It’s this sort of meticulous preparation, coupled with a knowledgeable captain’s experience, that helped Vinny Simms, Jr. land a record-breaking tautog on October 21, 2024. 

Simms, at the time, hadn’t wrangled a tautog larger than 6 pounds, but if there’s one place to shatter a personal-best blackfish, it’s along the craggy coast of Rhode Island. Taylor maneuvered his boat, the Reel E-Z, over a piece of structure that he discovered while cast-netting menhaden in the spring. The first few drops yielded some pesky black sea bass, followed by a much larger fish that forced Simms to lock the drag on his spinning reel. With Taylor walking him through how to play the fish, they managed to net it, even after the monster tog, being winched to the surface, took a drag-searing run back to the bottom. 

On board the Reel E-Z, the fish measured 34 inches, with an unofficial weight that surpassed 20 pounds on Taylor’s Boga Grip. Back on land, the certified scale at Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle read 22 pounds, 5.28 ounces, besting the previous state record by 12 ounces in weight and 2 inches in length. 

The tale of this record-breaking tautog is a testament to an angler’s willingness to learn from the captain, who took a chance on a new piece of bottom structure and coached his customer toward a hard-to-beat personal-best blackfish. It’s the kind of experience that keeps hopeful anglers returning to the water in search of a trophy of their own.

» Read the full story 


Junior World-Record White Marlin 

Elliot Sudal and Stone Fornes with the new junior world-record white marlin. (Photo courtesy of Elliot Sudal)

On August 16, 2024, Nantucket-based surf-fishing guide Elliot Sudal guided 12-year-old Stone Fornes to the new junior world-record white marlin—a 118.5-pound fish that surpassed the previous record, set in 2011 by Matthew Sheehan of Martha’s Vineyard, by nearly 17 pounds. 


Maryland State-Record Blueline Tilefish 

(Photo courtesy of Maryland DNR)

On August 24, 2024, while fishing in Poorman’s Canyon with Captain Chris Little of Talkin’ Trash Sportfishing Charters in Ocean City, London J. Anthony set the new Maryland state record for blueline tilefish on a chunk of ballyhoo. The 20.6-pound, 37.25-inch tilefish beat the previous record, caught by Robert Purcell in September 2012, by a mere 6 ounces. 


Rhode Island State-Record Mahi-Mahi

(Photo courtesy of Maridee Charters)

In late August, Karl Mohr of New York was fishing with father/son duo Captain Andy Dangelo and AJ Dangelo of Maridee Charters when they hooked into a double-header of mahi-mahi while trolling a Sterling Tackle Lumos tracker bar. 

Although Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management does not recognize mahi as being eligible for state-record contention, they do list dolphin fish under “Notable Catches” on the agency’s website. If recognized, Mohr’s 37.56-pound, 59-inch mahi will topple the previous “record”, which has stood since 1995, by 5 pounds and 1 inch. 

» Read the full story 


Maryland State-Record Yellowedge Grouper 

(Photo courtesy of Maryland DNR)

While fishing in Poorman’s Canyon with Captain Chase Eberle of Chasin’ Tides Charters, Jian Feng Li brought a massive yellowedge grouper to the boat after it ate a strip of false albacore. The catch was taken to Sunset Marina in Ocean City, where a Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologist confirmed the species. There, the 43-inch fish weighed in right at 38 pounds, just about 11 pounds short of the 48.6-pound world record. 


World-Record Atlantic Halibut

record-breaking fish from 2024
(From left) Alexandra Spring, Captain Ian Leonard, and CJ Peppe hoist Spring’s world record Atlantic halibut that she caught on a diamond jig east of Cape Cod. (Photo courtesy of Alexandra Spring)

On July 22, during a tuna trip off Cape Cod with Captain Ian Leonard, Alexandra Spring hooked a 33-pound, 14-ounce Atlantic halibut which, in her own words, “felt like reeling in a door from the bottom of the ocean.” Upon submitting specific lengths of line and leader material—along with the A87 diamond jig that caught the fish—to the IGFA, the braided line tested for 30-pounds of breaking strength. Her catch bested the previous 30-pound line class world record for Atlantic halibut, which was caught in Greenland during the 1980s. Spring now holds ten IGFA-certified world records.

» Read the full story


Freshwater Records

Rhode Island State-Record Rainbow Trout 

record-breaking fish from 2024
Zachary Taylor with his record-breaking Rhody rainbow. (Photo courtesy of WPRI.com)

While ice fishing on Peck Pond on January 18, 2024, Zachary Taylor of Burrillville, RI, caught a 15-pound, 12-ounce rainbow trout through a six-inch hole in the ice, shattering the previous state record––which was set in 2020––of 12 pounds, 9 ounces. 


Maryland State-Record Rainbow Trout 

record-breaking fish from 2024
(Photo courtesy of Maryland DNR)

While fishing in Antietam Creek on February 10, 2024, Jean-Philippe Lartigue of Bethesda, MD, set the new state record for rainbow trout. His whopping 17.44-pound fish toppled the longstanding record of 14.2 pounds set by Dave Schroyer in October 1987. 


New York State-Record Largemouth Bass 

record-breaking fish from 2024
(Photo courtesy of Jim Britenbaugh)

On July 11, 2024, during tournament practice on Cayuga Lake, Jim Britenbaugh of Gettysburg, PA, caught and released the new state-record largemouth bass after it was certified by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation officials at the boat launch. The 12-pound, 6-ounce bass dethroned John Higbie’s 11-pound, 4-ounce record that was caught in September 1987. 

» Read the full story 


New York State-Record Smallmouth Bass

Dante Piraino with record breaking smallmouth bass
(Photo courtesy of NYSDEC)

On September 22, 2024, Dante Piraino of Baldwinsville, NY, caught and released a 9-pound, 23.12-inch smallmouth bass on the St. Lawrence River. Piraino’s catch bested the previous state-record smallmouth, caught in Cayuga Lake in 2022, by just 8 ounces, stealing the record-breaking bass crown from Cayuga. 

» Read the full story 

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Source: https://onthewater.com/10-record-breaking-fish-from-2024

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