Can You Believe The Size Of The Biggest Fish Ever Caught In Texas?

Everything is bigger in Texas, even the fish.

After a post started circling about a big fish that was caught in Texas, it got people wondering. What is the biggest one?

This new one from April 16th, 2023 weighed in at a whopping 251 pounds. So how do you catch something this big?

No matter the type of body of water there are really two things for fishing. Timing and luck. Plus a little bit of knowing where to be.

The new post from two weeks ago says it is a new pending International Game Fish Association (IGFA) world record with Art Weston.

According to IGFA, the largest alligator gar was caught on December 2nd, 1951 at 279 lbs so this new one does not break the record but man that is a big fish. It was caught on the Rio Grande River by Bill Valverde. This alligator gar is currently the biggest fish ever caught on record in Texas for freshwater.

The biggest fish ever caught in Texas for saltwater is a Tiger Shark at 1,129 lbs. It was caught by Chap Cain III on May 24, 1992, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Texas. The tiger shark measured 162 inches which is 13 ½ feet.

Here is a list of the top 5 biggest fish ever caught in Texas for Freshwater:

#5 Smallmouth Buffalo: 82.22 lbs: Lake Athens on June 13, 1993, by Randy Collins

#4 Bighead Carp: 90 lbs caught by Timothy Connor on Kirby Lake on July 22, 2000.

#3 Flathead Catfish: 98.50 lbs on Lake Palestine back on December 2, 1998, by James Laster.

#2 Blue Catfish: 121.50 lbs by Cody Mullenix on January 16, 2004, at Lake Texoma.

#1 Alligator Gar: 279 lbs by Bill Valverde on December 2, 1951 in the Rio Grande.

Here is a list of the top 5 biggest fish ever caught in Texas for Saltwater:

#5 Largetooth Sawfish: 736 lbs on January 1, 1939 by Gus Pangarakis in the Gulf of Mexico.

#4 Bluefin Tuna: 876 lbs on April 13, 2021, by Troy Lancaster off the shores of Port Aransas.

#3 Blue Marlin: 972.70 lbs by Richard Richardson Jr. on July 11, 2014, in the Gulf of Mexico.

#2 Great Hammerhead shark: 1,033 lbs in the Gulf of Mexico by Timothy W. McClellen on July 9, 2017.

#1 Tiger Shark: 1,129 lbs by Chap Cain III on May 24, 1992 off the Gulf of Mexico.