Reelin' in the Year

About three weeks ago, I received the 1977 World Almanac, and it has information I just might find myself using in future entries. Fishing records in that book are listed not only with the weight of the fish, but with the length and girth as well. In this list for this special post are some records set in 1974 that endured for a decade or two, as well as some new to this blog that lasted around three years. Here they are, in reverse order of weight.
 
Note that the freshwater records (June 1976) from the 1977 World Almanac came from Field & Stream magazine and that by 1984 the International Game Fish Association was the source for both fresh- and saltwater records (June 1983).
 
A warmouth weighing two pounds even, with a length of 12 inches and a girth of 12 1/2 inches, was caught in the fresh waters of Sylvania, Ga., on May 4 by Carlton Robbins. The catch was a record according to Field & Stream.
June 1983 record: 2 pounds 2 ounces, 5-19-73 (Robbins' fish apparently wasn't recognized by IGFA)
Jan. 1991 record: 2 pounds 7 ounces, 10-19-85
Current record: see above
 
A three-pound rock bass whose length was 13 1/2 inches and whose girth was 10 3/4 inches was landed Aug. 1 from the York River in Ontario, Canada, by Peter Gulgin.
1-1-08 record: tied with rock bass caught 6-19-98
Current record: see above
 
A silver redhorse with a weight of four pounds and two ounces, a fish 20 1/2 inches long and with a girth of 14 inches, was reeled in Oct. 4 out of the Gasconade River in Missouri, with C. Larry McKegney as the proud angler.
June 1983 record: 9 pounds 11 ounces, 5-22-82
Jan. 1991 record: 11 pounds 7 ounces, 5-29-85
Current record: see above
 
A tiger trout from the Deerskin River in Wisconsin weighed ten pounds and was found to be 27 inches in length and 16 3/4 inches in girth when brought to the scale May 23 by Charles J. Mattek.
June 1983 record: 20 pounds 13 ounces, 8-12-78
Current record: 27 pounds 6 ounces, 8-7-22
 
A 13-pound lake whitefish was caught July 14 from Great Bear Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories, one whose length was 32 1/4 inches and whose girth was 19 inches when certified as a record fish landed by Robert L. Stintsman.
June 1983 record: 13 pounds 5 ounces, 4-19-81
Jan. 1991 record: 14 pounds 6 ounces, 5-21-84
Current record: see above
 
A chum salmon was reeled in Aug. 19, and the record has it that the fish that swam in Alaska's Margarita Bay was 24 pounds 4 ounces, with a length of 40 1/2 inches and a girth of 22 7/8 inches. Richard Coleman caught it.
June 1983 record: 27 pounds 3 ounces, 6-11-77
Jan. 1991 record: 32 pounds even, 6-7-85
8-26-99 record: 35 pounds even, 7-11-95
Current record: see above
 
An Atlantic sailfish, weighing 128 pounds 1 ounce, was an IGFA saltwater record catch for 17 years. The sailfish, with a length of 8 feet 10 1/4 inches and a girth of 34 1/4 inches, posed a challenge March 27 to Harm Steyn, who was fishing in Luanda, Angola.
10-1-95 record: 135 pounds 5 ounces, caught 11-10-91
8-26-99 record: 141 pounds 1 ounce, caught 2-19-94
Current record: 142 pounds 6 ounces, caught 3-12-14
 
A 1,142-pound Atlantic blue marlin reeled in July 26 at Nags Head, N.C., stood for just over three years (if that) as an IGFA record fish. The huge saltwater monster was measured at a length of 13 feet 9 inches and a girth of 80 inches. Jack Herrington would see his name in the books.
June 1983 record: 1,282 pounds, 8-6-77
10-1-95 record: 1,402 pounds 2 ounces, 2-29-92
Current record: see above
 
Sources: The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1977, The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1984, The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1992, 1996 Information Please Sports Almanac, 2000 ESPN Information Please Sports Almanac, ESPN Sports Almanac 2009, IGFA.org

EDIT 12:09 p.m. EST: Among other things, the sailfish was not 34 feet 1/4 inch in girth!