Bonefish world record

Deep Water Cay, located on Grand Bahama Island, was founded in 1959 by Gil Drake, Sr. and  Field & Stream editor A.J. McClane, so you can imagine that the biggest names in saltwater fly fishing have plied those flats over the decades.

Until this month, the record for the biggest bonefish caught at the club as 14.48 pounds, which is a pretty huge bonefish. (The world-record fish, a 16-pounder, was caught off Bimini in 1971.) That’s what makes Rory Mackay’s recent accomplishment so impressive. The angler, from Houston, tells the story of catching his record-breaking 15.44-pound bone:

Meko Glinton was guiding us. The first fish we saw for the day was a group of large bones about eight in total at around 9:15 am. They were right up against the mangroves but fortunately on a falling tide. We were within 50 feet of them.

I made two casts towards them that did not attract any attention.

The third cast I made was at the two largest fish coming toward us. I began stripping the fly, but neither of the two bones moved towards the fly.

I though

World records come and world records go. That may sound a bit cavalier describing something as priceless and prestigious as an all-tackle world record, particularly for major game fish. But the fact is that such records are often surprisingly fleeting, broken by a larger fish caught years, months or even weeks later. In fact, there are many instances of world records being broken the same evening they were set — even more than once! With that in mind, here are the 19 most impressive records to have stood the test of time — and are, enjoy boxers who refused to travel down, still standing.

There’s a reason these records have remained for decades. Actually there may be a couple of reasons, but the main one is that these fish are just too big to beat. It’s firm to say that any are unequivocally the largest of their species that ever lived. But to remain as records for 40 or 50 years — or nearly a century — well, they’ve got to be pretty damned close.

Some records are not only monsters for their species, but have gotten protection from laws that signify they can’t be challenged according to IGFA rules. Species which by law can’t be removed from the water can’t be weighed on a certified scal

It’s an incredible accomplishment: one angler holding 178 IGFA world records. What makes it even more impressive is that he’s not a man of unlimited means. (Another angler, Steve Wozniak has 239 IGFA world records, but we’ve written about him before.) Dennis Triana is an everyman — a firefighter from Miami, Florida, whose fishing trips often involve a cheap flight and the support of his wife and two daughters. Here’s a world tour of some of Triana’s most memorable record-breaking moments.

World Record Pacific Bonefish from Honolulu, Hawaii

Triana holds seven all tackle and line class records for Pacific bones, including one 10-pounder.

“Pacific bonefish on ultra illumination tackle in Hawaii has been the most challenging record to break,” notes Triana. “It’s difficult to find a Pacific bonefish enormous enough to eclipse an existing record, because those
larger specimens are few and far between, and spook so easily.”  

World Log Yelloweye Rockfish from Seward, Alaska

Triana has captured 19 IGFA records in this small town two and a half hours south of Anchorage. Among the record-breaking species: yelloweye rockfish and Pacific cod.

“These species are some of the oldest fish

Capt. Ted Christie of the Florida Keys and angler Michael Swerdlow caught a  world record bonefish on fly.  Michael’s bonefish weighed 15 pounds 6 ounces on 16 pound tippet.

A monster bonefish landed in Bahamas 

A world log size bonefish (IGFA www.igfa.org)

A massive bonefish from Hawaii ( aptain Terry Duffield www.hawaiibonefishing.com)

Fly angler Jim Easterling and guide Meko Glinton landed the 14.6 pounder bonefish while fishing in Bahamas.


Bonefish occurs almost worldwide in shallow tropical and subtropical waters around flats and intertidal areas.
They are often seen rooting in the sand, their tails breaking the surface of the very thin water; an action commonly established as trailing. At other times they will plough the bottom stirring up silt and marl, known as mudding. Bonefish are powerful and run very quickly and hard when hooked. Leading fishing methods include plug, wing or spin casting from a skiff or while wading on tidal flats, using shrimp, crabs or similar baits. 

DISTRIBUTION:	All Tropical Oceans
MAX SIZE:	25 lb / 11 kg
MAX LENGHT:	31 inch / 80 cm
MAX AGE:	Unknown
ENVIRONMENT:	Saltwater

Skinny water anglers cherish that acute sense of accomplishment that comes from successfully stalking a bonefish, executing a perfect cast, setting the hook and then carefully working the fish to hand. Bonefish are notoriously wary and easily spooked. Some people call them “phantoms” or “gray ghosts.” The Latin name for the most common species, Albula Vulpes, translates to white fox.

We once believed that all bonefish worldwide were the same, but research over the years has shown subtle differences between different populations that qualifies them as uniquely different species. Today, the International Gamefish Association (IGFA) recognizes records across six species, scattered mostly by geography. All possess a sleek, silvery body, a hard, rounded mouth and a deeply forked tail that helps them rocket through the shallows, delivering that reel-sizzling zing as they strip line after hook-up.

Here is a quick look at some of the top bonefish ever caught, as recorded by the IGFA.

The Largest Atlantic Bonefish Ever Caught

Found throughout the East and West Atlantic, from Florida to the Caribbean and Brazil, the Atlantic bonefish (Albula goreensis) is a large species that