A good friend of my father caught a huge flounder in Rockport, and he thinks he possibly caught, photographed, filleted, and ate a fish that could've beat the state record.

It was a hair over 35" long, looked like a damn halibut! He didn't weigh the fish though...go figure.

Does anyone know the current record? I think it was 14.5lbs and 34.5" if I remember correctly.

I'll post a pic later this evening (have to scan it in when I get off of work). He just gave me the picture today, wish he would've taken more.

So, how often do you think records are beaten...and people just don't care, dont want to deal with the hassle, or just don't know any better? It's gotta happen pretty often...

Shawn

Here's the pic of it.

Forgot to mention, it was gigged, not caught on rod/reel. It was a friggin' table top though...

Shawn,

Did you see the fish? I am just a little skeptical. Is the fish still on the end of the gig? If so, the proportions of the fish to the man are going to be very distorted. Looking at the three blood marks on the head and presuming it is where the three pronged gig went in, that would be about a 4" measurement on the fish. If that is the case, then the fish is under 22" in length. A big flounder but maybe not quite the 35".

Then again, it could be a 35" fish and a state record, without seeing it, nobody will ever know.

That was a nice flounder, I have always wanted to try gigging but don't know anybody who does it. As for records at the SKA king fish tournament @ Port A two years ago, we landed and released a barracuda that was everybit of 60 + inches. One guy held it up by the tail while we pulled the hooks. When we slid it overboard Danny held the tail up to his head while the fishes head was in the water up to his pectoral fins. After returning to weigh in and visiting with some friends we found out the state record was 57". Oh well thats the way it works sometimes, but I will say that when he hit that hardtail everybody in the boat was seeing dollar signs until we got it close enough to see what it was.

Bozo,

I didn't witness the fish personally. However, he did call my father the night he caught it, and his story hasn't changed. Whether or not it's a record doesn't matter anymore...but I'm just curious to see how people feel about records being broken, and just not spoken of. Especially in nets, surveys, etc...

It's too late now to prove anything, so it's hard to say. He regularly catches large flounder, usually gigging them. He runs the intracoastal edges, and seems to find them better then anyone I've ever known. When I was younger he had 2 in one night over 9lbs, I don't remember the length on them.

The guy is 6'2" tall. He is holding it out a bit, but not too much..you can tell by how close his left forearm is to his body. The fish extends from the top of his head to his waist, well over 30". Although, the fish is being held out a bit and distorting the picture, like you said.

Look at the size of the fishes eye, and the size of the base of it's tail compared to his thigh.

Not that it matters now, cause like you said, we'll never know. He's not claiming anything, he was just happy to have a couple bags of flounder fillets.
Either way, it's over 3 times the weight of the biggest flounder I've ever touched...unfortunately

I'm sure there are several fish tossed back or eaten yearly that break records. Probably not your more common game fish, but definitely some in the less common species.

Take care
Shawn

Maybe Im not looking at the same picture? I don't see an eye, only the bottom of the fish.

Sounds like he is one heck of a flounder gigger. I would like to tag along one day and learn how to do that.

Bozo,

It's the same pic.

Look on the left side of the fish. You can see the eye of it, just slightly. It's very large for a flounder.

BTW, I spoke with my father a few minutes ago, and he said that the guy who caught it is going to send us another picture of it. I didn't think he had any other pics. Supposedly the other pic is of his son holding it at his side, with it's tail on the ground and the mouth up by his waste. I'll post it up if and when I get it.

He sent us the pic so I could clean it up on the PC for him (digital photo restoration), and so he can blow it up. He's been gigging for years, and he moved down there after he retired. He's always in the mix with big fish...lucky SOB. He also caught a spotted moray eel, about 7' long, out on a deep sea trip on the 'Sparky', which used to be out of Port A piloted by John Reuss if I remember correctly...the boat is no longer down there as far as I know. He got back to the dock and found out that it would've been a record...although less desirable then a flounder, it still would've been cool to get your name in the book. He didn't seem to care.

I plan to go gigging with him this upcoming flounder run...see if I can learn anything. My largest flounder happened to be 22", and it looks tiny in pictures compared to this one. It was caught on R&R though...

Shawn

Many years ago I gigged 2 in one nite that went over 9#....that is a gig record that would still hold up today....didn't know how to do records, or could have cared less back then. The flounder R&R record is much larger than the gig record. If you fish long enough, I think it's possible to eat or release a record - especially now. Example: You would probably kill a new state record Black Drum just trying to get it landed, measured, weighed, pictured, deflate bladder, etc. before you put it back. Might as well just keep it and pay the fine..LOL!...but would the record still stand? Interesting question.

SQ-
What and when is the "upcoming flounder run" that you speak of?

Although flounder hatch with an eye on each side of their body, it quickly migrates to the otherside of its body as it developes into the form we commonly recognize as a flounder. Therefore, the eye isn't visible from the bottom of a mature fish. The eyes would only be visible from the top or brown side of the fish. So, unless one of those blood spots is an eye that he pulled out and stuck on the back of the flounder, there isn't and eye visible in the above picture.

The eye of a very small flounder would look huge if I held it right up to the camera lens.

I agree with Bozo, There is no eye on the underside of a flounder, and the man looks like he is holding a gig and not the fish. If you hold a fish from behind, like he is doing, he would have to have his hands up in the gill plate, which in turn would open the fishes mouth wide open, which it's not. The 3 gig holes you can see are huge (the size of the mans eye). 3/4" rebar for a gig? Send the pic to a newspaper or fishing magazine and see what they say.
man I hope I'm wrong cuz that would be an awsome fish!! It reminds me of Hogzilla pictures. And also, a man gigging for that many years would know if the fish is a record or not.
man I hope I'm right cuz I don't have any room in the house for flounder gigging equipment.
just my .02, thats all.
Sorry if I offended anybody

***Edited***
See pic below.

Shawn, when did he gig it? Month, date, year?

This year, mid april. Not sure of exact date.

Look at the red arrow. It's pointing at the eye of the fish.

As far as him knowing it was a record because he gigs so often...he probably didn't even think about it. He is the type of guy that could care less. I would've had it in Mr. TPWD's lap as soon as I landed it.