Most anglers dream of catching a world record sized fish but very few accomplish the feat. There are many rules associated with catching a world record. The International Game Fish Association has been the governing body for setting the standards and proving regulations have been met so the fish qualifies for the records. Sometimes catches are the right size but the manner which the fish was taken disqualified it. Once in a while the species of fish caught will be mistaken. But most of all, the size of the world record fish just keeps getting larger every year.

The Atlantic cod is a good example of how the world record fish keeps getting larger. In 1949 a world record size cod was caught off the coast of New York. It weighed 57 lbs, 8 oz. That record held for several years. In 1958 a cod was caught in Rockport, Connecticut that weighed 72 lbs which broke the nine year old record by 14 1/2 lbs. Two years later, in 1960, the record was broken again, this time in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. There a cod weighing 74 lbs 4 oz was caught.

In 1965 a fisherman in Boothbay Harbor, Maine caught a huge cod weighing 86 lbs. but when the catch was investigated it was discovered the angler was using a treble hook instead of the required single hook. This disqualified the record. This is one of the heart breaking problems with trying to catch a world record fish. You must know all the rules and follow them every time you cast. You never know which cast will hook the next world record.

The old 1960 record was finally broken after six years. In 1966 an angler in Massachusetts Bay caught a 78 lb 4 oz cod. This record held for only a year. In 1967 a fisherman in Brielk, New Jersey, caught an 81 lb cod.

Each of these anglers caught a record fish that held for a few years but was soon broken. Another example of how world record catches change is the blackfin tuna. The blackfin tuna world record was caught in 1956 off the coast of Bermuda. The fish weighed 25 lbs. 12 oz. Then the next year a new record was caught and again in 1957 of off Capetown, South Africa a new record was caught. This blackfin weighted in at 44 lbs. 8 oz, completely shattering the old record by 18