On Sunday, February 16, 2014, a potential world-record redear sunfish was caught in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Angler Hector Brito was fishing a nightcrawler in the lake when he got bit by what he thought at the time was a catfish, based on the fight. The fish was weighed and measured at an official IGFA measuring station in Lake Havasu City. If certified, the new world record will best the previous record by about a quarter of a pound.
Larger fish have been caught from the lake recently. Ironically, state biologists think that the increased size may be due to the proliferation of invasive quagga mussels. Scientists believe that the record may not stand for long, though. Read why in this post from the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
A pending world record, Arizona style, was yanked out of Lake Havasu on Sunday. Hector Brito’s redear sunfish weighed 5.78 pounds. A steroid shellcracker, it was.
If you’ve never seen a 6-pound panfish, it’s time to head to Havasu, where the redear sunfish are likely benefitting from the invasive quagga mussels as a food source.
Brito caught the redear sunfish at 11:30 a.m. and brought it to Bass Tackle Master in beautiful Lake Havasu City, where John Galbraith weighed it at 5.78 pounds on an Arizona Game and Fish-certified scale. It was 17 inches long. Brito caught the plump panfish by the chalk cliffs with a dropshot rig that included a No. 8 Aberdeen gold hook and a nightcrawler.
The record awaits certification by the International Game Fish Association.
Photos: Arizona Fish and Game Department
