ok ...... somneone beat that ...

 

.... awesome profile picture of a fish ...







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Damn Northern Fish!

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What is the Largest Shark Ever
Caught?
What's the largest shark ever caught? I'm guessing 25 feet.
An archival photo of the famous "Cojimar Specimen", a large White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) caught off Cuba in 1945 that was said to measure 21 feet (6.4 m) and weigh about 7,100 lbs (3,220 kg). Sometimes, this weight is given as "7,302 pounds" (3,312 kg), but — in truth — this shark was never weighed. The length of this shark has been questioned, too. From the photo, the shark looks about 16 feet (5 m) long — that's still awfully BIG, but a long way short of 21 feet!. The weight of large White Sharks is highly variable at a given length, so it is difficult to estimate the mass of such a beast.
Few things are as stubbornly tough to verify as a Really Big Fish Story.
The Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) is generally regarded to be the World's Largest Living Fish, having been reliably reported to reach lengths of at least 16 metres (55 feet), and reputed to reach as long as 18 metres (60 feet). However, the largest Whale Shark ever captured measured some 12.6 metres in length and was harpooned off Baba Island (near Karachi, Pakistan) in November 1949. The girth (distance around the thickest part of the body) of this specimen measured some 7 metres (23 feet) and the whole shark was estimated to weigh about 15 tonnes (15.5 tons).
But the Whale Shark is a placid plankton-grazer. Since considerable fame is often attached to capturing the largest actively predaceous shark, it is much, much more difficult to separate actual measurements from wishful-thinking, guesstimates, and outright exaggerations. The largest predatory shark is the Great White (Carcharodon carcharias), said to reach lengths of over 9 metres (30 feet). Until very recently, the largest scientifically-accepted Great White was a 7-metre (23-foot) long specimen captured off Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea, in April 1987. Unfortunately, later investigation revealed that its length was exaggerated by about 25%. A reputedly comparably-sized Great White captured off Kangaroo Island, South Australia, in April 1987 remains the largest predatory shark reliably reported, but since only the head and pectoral fins were retained by the fisherman who caught it, scientific verification of its actual length could not be made. The next-largest Great White on record in the scientific literature is a 6.4-metre specimen harpooned off Cuba in May 1945, but this measurement, too, has been called into question. To the best of my knowledge, the largest Great White recorded in the scientific literature is a 6.1-metre long female captured off Prince Edward Island in August 1983.
Apparently spuds are not the only thing they know how to grow BIG is P.E.I.![/align][/align]

 

Thursday September 5, 2002
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Dear Yahoo!:

What is the largest fish ever caught?

Ishmael




Dear Ishmael:

We fished around an ocean of web sites to reel in the answer to your question. According to Ocean Link and several other fish-fact sites, the Whale Shark, or Rhincodon typus, holds the title of largest fish ever caught. In 1919, a specimen measuring 59 feet was captured in the Gulf of Thailand. Not coincidentally, the Whale Shark is considered the largest species of fish, as adults often grow to be 45 feet long and can weigh up to 15 tons.
Whale Sharks are not related to whales (which are mammals, not fish). They may have earned the name because of their large size and the fact that, like whales, Whale Sharks are filter feeders. They suck up plankton and small sea creatures as they swim with their mouths open. Despite having thousands of teeth, this type of shark is harmless to humans.
Whale sharks are found in the warm, tropical oceans of the world, although their numbers are declining. The 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species labels the Whale Shark as a "vulnerable" species, meaning that it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild in the not-too-distant future.

 

Katz ,

HOLLY COW ! what is it and where is it?

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Looks like a blown up version of a pike or down in the south a Gar fish.

 

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[/align]Now that's a lot of smoked marlin dinners

 

someone mention gar fish?











GAR





Florida Gar
Longnose Gar
Alligator Gar
Spotted Gar
LONGNOSE GAR
(Lepisosteus osseus)
Common Names - gar, garfish
Description - They are olive-brown or deep green along the back and upper sides, with silver-white bellies. There are a few irregular, large dark spots on the body. The young display scattered spots over both sides, the upper and lower jaws and on their ventral fins. The longnose is generally distinguished from other gars by its longer, more slender body, and especially by its longer, narrower snout. The snout is twice the length of the rest of the head.
Subspecies - There are no recognized subspecies.
Range - They are one of the most widespread and numerous of the gar species in Florida. They generally are found north of and in Lake Okeechobee.
Habitat - They inhabit sluggish, sometimes poorly oxygenated water, backwaters and oxbows of medium-to-large rivers and lakes. Longnose gars as well as other gar species are able to tolerate poor water quality by breathing air through its air bladder. They usually are found near vegetation and occasionally in brackish waters.
Spawning Habits - Spawning occurs between December and March in Florida. Adhesive eggs are scattered in shallow water over vegetation or other structure and hatch between six and eight days later. The larvae attaches themselves to the substrate shortly after hatching by means of a disk-like organ on the tip of the snout while the fish continues to develop. The attachment organ subsequently is lost as the fish develops into an adult.
Feeding Habits - Young fish mainly feed on zooplankton while larger ones feed on small fishes, frogs and crustaceans. They feed by stalking their prey or lying in wait for it to come within striking distance.
Age and Growth - Females grow faster, bigger, and live longer than males and can attain lengths in excess of five feet.
Sporting Qualities - Gars are sporty fighters; however, they are not fished for to a great extent. They can be taken with minnows and artificial lures or during daylight by spearing (although not by speargun) and snagging them with treble hooks. They are popular with bow-fishermen and anglers using frayed nylon cord as a lure snag, which entangles the gars teeth.
Eating Quality - Although the flesh of longnose gars are edible, it is not popular. However, the Seminole Indians reportedly prefer gars over other fish. They roast them whole in the coals of open fires. The roe is poisonous to humans, animals and birds.
World Record - 50.31 pounds, caught in Trinity River, Texas, in 1954.
State Record - 41.00 pounds, caught in Lake Panasoffkee, Sumter County, in 1985. (Please check link for updates)


FLORIDA GAR
(Lepisosteus platyrhincus)
Common Names - gar, garfish, spotted gar
Description - They have irregular round, black spots on the top of the head and over the entire body and on all the fins. Other gars, except for spotted gars, have spots on the fins and usually on the posterior part of the body. They can be distinguished from other gars, such as spotted gars, by the distance from the front of the eye to the back of the gill cover. In Florida gars, the distance is less than two-thirds the length of the snout. In spotted gars, the distance is more than two-thirds the length of the snout. Other characteristics of Florida gars include a shorter, broader snout with a single row of irregularly spaced sharp teeth on both upper and lower jaws and no bony scales on the throat. The coloration is olive-brown along the back and upper sides with a white-to-yellow belly. The young sometimes have dark stripes along back and sides.
Subspecies - There are no recognized subspecies.
Range - They are found in the Ochlockonee River and waters east and south in peninsular Florida.
Habitat - They inhabit medium-to-large lowland streams, canals and lakes with mud or sand bottoms near underwater vegetation. Like all gars, they use an air bladder to breathe air to survive in poorly oxygenated water.
Spawning Habits - Spawning occurs in late winter and early spring. Groups of fish of both sexes congregate in shallow weedy waters where the females discharge their adhesive eggs among the submerged aquatic plants. The newly hatched young possess an adhesive organ on the end of their snout and stay attached to vegetation until they are about 3/4-inch long.
Feeding Habits - Young fish feed on zooplankton, insect larvae and small fish. Adults primarily feed on fish, shrimp and crayfish.
Age and Growth - Florida gars grow rapidly and can reach a length of 30 inches.
Sporting Qualities - See longnose gar.
Eating Quality - Although edible, they are unpopular as food. The roe is highly toxic to humans, animals and birds.
World Record - 21.19 pounds, caught in Boca Raton, Florida, in 1981.