Top 10 Largest Fish Ever Caught (By Species)

Largest Fish Ever Caught (By Species)

These aren’t just big—they’re almost unbelievable.

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Some fish reach sizes that seem impossible—until you see the records. This list highlights the largest fish ever caught by anglers, featuring one record-breaking catch per species. These are not estimates or myths. These are documented, real-world catches that represent the upper limits of what humans have landed. From massive sharks and giant tuna to freshwater monsters and deep-sea giants, this is the closest thing fishing has to a historical record book of extremes.

Top 10 Species

Meet the ten species that earned their spot on this list. Click any species to deep dive and learn more.

1

Bluefin Tuna

Verified
World Record 1,496 lb 0 oz
Ken Fraser / 1979
Aulds Cove, Nova Scotia
Signature Fact Bluefin run a built‑in furnace, keeping muscles, eyes, and brain up to 20°C warmer than seawater.
Click to Learn More About Bluefin Tuna
2

Black marlin

Verified
World Record 1560 lb 0 oz
Alfred Glassell Jr. / 1953
Cabo Blanco, Peru
Signature Fact Black marlin are the only marlin that cannot fold their pectoral fins flush against the body.
Click to Learn More About Black marlin
3

Tiger shark

Verified
World Record Pending
Signature Fact Stomach checks have turned up license plates, tires, and even a fur coat in tiger sharks.
Click to Learn More About Tiger shark
4

Goliath Grouper

Learn More Here Verified Catch
World Record 680 lb 0 oz
Lynn Joyner / 1961
Fernandina Beach, Florida
Signature Fact It "booms" like a subwoofer-swim-bladder muscles thump so hard divers feel it in their ribs.
5

Giant Freshwater Stingray

Learn More Here Verified Catch
World Record Pending
Signature Fact A documented Cambodian female weighed 300 kilograms, earning recognition as the largest freshwater fish specimen.
6

Mekong Giant Catfish

Learn More Here Verified Catch
World Record 260 lb 0 oz
Martin David Kent / 2010
Gillhams Fishing Resort, Krabi, Thailand
Signature Fact A wild Mekong giant catfish netted in Thailand in 2005 weighed 646 pounds.
7

Alligator Gar

Learn More Here Verified Catch
World Record 279 lb 0 oz
Art Weston / 2011
Rio Grande, Texas
Signature Fact Their eggs are poisonous to humans, even after cooking-roe tacos are a very bad idea.
8

White Sturgeon

Learn More Here Verified Catch
World Record 468lbs 0oz
oey Pallotta III / 1983
San Pablo Bay, California, USA.
Signature Fact Eleven‑foot white sturgeon sometimes launch completely out of the water-prehistoric armor doing full‑on tarpon acrobatics.
9

Greenland shark

Learn More Here Verified Catch
World Record Pending
Signature Fact Oldest known vertebrate on Earth; radiocarbon-dated individuals reached nearly 400 years old.
10

Great white shark

Learn More Here Verified Catch
World Record 2,664 lb 0 oz
Alfred Dean / 1959
Ceduna, South Australia, Australia
Signature Fact They can rocket completely airborne, breaching over 10 feet while ambushing seals at high speed.

FAQs

What is the largest fish ever caught by anglers?

Large sharks like great whites and tiger sharks, along with bluefin tuna and marlin, are among the biggest fish ever caught by anglers.

Why only one fish per species in this list?

This approach keeps the list diverse and highlights the biggest representatives across different species rather than repeating the same type of fish.

Are these records officially recognized?

Some are recognized by organizations like the IGFA, while others are historical or regional records that are widely accepted.

Can anglers still catch fish this large today?

Yes, though many of these sizes are rare. Conservation rules and catch-and-release practices also impact modern records.

What makes a fish a record-breaking catch?

Size, weight, and length relative to the species determine whether a fish is considered record-breaking.

Species Speed Run

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