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For the Record: Rigging and Submitting for IGFA World Records
If you want to get your huge fish in the IGFA record book, you have to rig up right.
by B. Craig Phillips
This article originally appeared in American Angler, Fall 2008 and is published here with permission.
At one time or another, every angler has likely thought about what it would be like to catch a world record fish. Some dream about it, some even obsess about it, but most never take time to look in to what it really takes to get your name in “the book.” It’s not nearly as hard as you may think. A world record is quite likely within your reach, and probably from waters close to home. In fact, there may be dozens of fly rod world records just waiting for you right down the road.
The International Game Fish Association, or IGFA, based in Dania Beach, Florida is the official keeper of records – including fly rod world records – for both fresh and salt water. The IGFA recognizes more than 200 species, worldwide, as eligible for fly rod world records. The fly-rod category features tippet-class records, and with seven tippet classes for each species, fly fishers can compete for over 1,500 fly rod world records. Plus there are ladies’ tippet-class records maintained for saltwater species, and state fly rod records. What’s really exciting, for the novice glory seeker, is that a good number of records in each category are vacant, which means that the first “legal” fish submitted is the record.
The Rules
IGFA rules define the specifications that your equipment must meet for consideration of a record. These rules aren’t complicated, but they are ironclad. Let’s start with the fly line. It can be floating, sinking, or sinking-tip; weight forward, double tapered or level; store-bought or home-made. You may also use any type of backing you would like. The breaking strength of the fly line and backing are not restricted by the IGFA.
The leader is a different matter. It is the most regulated part of the fly angler’s rig, and the cause of many disqualifications. The leader consists of a butt or tapered section, a class tippet, and sometimes a shock tippet. The butt section and shock tippet can be made of any material of any length and breaking strength. If you use a shock tippet - say for northern pike or barracuda - it cannot exceed 12 inches in length, including knots, but it may be constructed of any material.
The class tippet is the critical leader section, as far as the IGFA is concerned. It must be attached to the fly or the shock tippet, and cannot be made of metal. It must be at least 15 inches long, between knots, and if you use a manufactured tapered leader, the terminal 15 inches will determine for which of the seven tippet classes - 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, 12-, 16-, and 20-pound-test - your leader qualifies.
The rod may be made of any material and have any number of sections, but it must be what we would all recognize as a fly rod. In the words of the IGFA the rod must, “conform to generally accepted fly fishing customs and practices.” Beyond that, it must be at least six feet in total length, not including a fighting butt. That fighting butt cannot exceed 6 inches in length, but that rule was recently modified by the IGFA to allow for the longer fighting butts on Spey and two-handed fly rods that exceed 11 feet.
Reels must be designed for fly fishing, which means that you can’t use an altered spinning or casting reel. Any gear ratio or type of drag system is allowed, so long as it doesn’t provide for an unfair advantage to the angler.
The IGFA allows the use of both single- and double-hook flies, as well as tandem hook flies, but treble hooks are not permitted. If you choose to rig two single hooks in tandem on your fly, the distance between the eye of the second hook can’t be longer than six inches and the second hook may not extend past fly’s wing. The fly itself must be, “a recognized type of artificial fly” – for example, wet, dry, popper, streamer, nymph, bug, bucktail or tube fly - and it must be used alone. No dropper flies or other multiple fly rigs are allowed. Obviously, adding a bit of ‘garden hackle’ when the going gets tough is a no-no. In fact, you can’t even rub that worm on your wooly bugger, since both natural and artificial scents are prohibited.
[Post publication note: the following two paragraphs were not in the published version. The first addresses a frequently asked question when people learn that we fish for gar. It is included here for that reason. The second addresses a growing segment of the conventional tackle box – plastics and micro-lures.]
The other things you can’t use are flies designed to entangle or foul-hook a fish. I fish for anything that will bite, and here in Kansas that includes a couple of species of gar. Gar have very hard, toothy mouths and a common lure for those few conventional anglers who target them is a short section of frayed nylon rope. The gar’s teeth become entangled in the rope. When I tell people I fish for gar, they invariably ask me if I use rope flies, but as you now know, that would not be a legal fly under IGFA rules.
Finally, just because a lure can be cast with a fly rod doesn’t mean it is a fly. Again, they don’t explain that limitation, but here’s my interpretation: no live bait or plastic lures on a bare hook and none of the new micro-sized crank baits sold for ultra-light spinning rods. I’m betting that if you or someone else didn’t tie natural or artificial materials on a hook in a manner that most of us would recognize as fly tying, it doesn’t qualify as a fly.
Fishing, Fighting and Landing
Once you’re rigged, there are more rules to follow. Let’s start with the simple ones. You must cast to, hook, and fight your fish without assistance, and you can’t allow anyone else to touch any part of your rod and reel. Until the leader is close enough to be grabbed or the fish netted, you’re on your own. The fly must be cast and retrieved normally and trolling is not allowed. If fishing from a boat, the motor must be out of gear at the cast and during the retrieve. If you’re a distance casting champ, back it down a little; no more than 120 feet of line may be stripped off the reel for a cast!
Once you get the fish on, you can’t make any alterations to the rod or reel, except to add a fighting butt (which you must do without assistance). You may not rest the rod on any object while fighting the fish, and if the rod breaks during the fight, you may continue to fight the fish. But if the broken rod is less than six feet in length, it is no longer legal.
Now for some less obvious rules. For instance, if you hook a small fish and a record-class fish swallows it deeply enough for you to land it, it won’t count for a record. Mutilation of a fish - by a boat propeller, shark, mammal or other fish - will disqualify your catch, but injuries from the line, or old scratches or wounds will not. You do need to photograph and explain the injuries when you submit your application.
The rest of the rules are basically associated with fair chase. Fish caught in hatchery waters or a sanctuary is not eligible, nor is any fish that was not caught in compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations. You’re not allowed to intentionally snag or foul-hook a fish. You may not chum with any part of a mammal, including its blood, nor can you shoot, harpoon, or lance the fish at any time. Finally, you’re not allowed to attach another line to the fly line, or to attach the fly line to the boat or any other object to aid in holding or lifting the fish. If your fish gets tangled in your buddy’s line, that would be unintentionally attaching another line, so that catch would be disqualified.
The bottom line is that, if you’re doing what the average fly angler would recognize as fly fishing, you’re probably fine. As the IGFA puts it, a catch should, “reflect credit on the fisherman, and only the angler can properly evaluate the degree of achievement in establishing the record.”
You are allowed to net or gaff your catch, and this is the only part of catching a fish for which you may receive assistance from as many people as needed. Nets and gaffs may not exceed eight feet in length, and flying gaffs, multi-hooked gaffs, or rope extensions are not permitted. And if your fish throws the hook before you net or gaff it, but it is tired enough that you can still grab it, the catch will be disallowed. You may recapture it by a method outlined in the angling rules; in other words, you have to catch it again!
Making Your Application
Once you catch your fish, you still have some work to do. In fact, you’d better come prepared for a record. You’ll need a camera and a measuring tape to record the length and girth of your fish. Have plenty of film (or digital storage space), as the IGFA requests photos showing the full length and width of the fish, the rod and reel, the scale used to weigh the fish, and the traditional ‘grip and grin’ photo of the angler with the fish.
If you are submitting a species of fish that is difficult to identify, like a hybrid, take lots of photos to assist the IGFA reviewers. If you know the distinguishing characteristics of the species, take several photos that highlight those. Photos of the fish on its side should include a measuring tape. Be careful not to obscure any part of the fish, but do try to extend the fins if possible. Take photos from various angles, and if you can, take one of the fish hanging on the scale with the actual weight shown. And make sure you look good in the grip and grin – they often use that photo in the IGFA monthly newsletter!
The scale you use to weigh the fish must be certified by a government inspector or accredited commercial scales representative. Your local grocery store’s butcher shop scale might fit that criterion. On the coasts, or around popular fishing areas, you stand a decent chance of finding a certified scale at a local marina. But if you’re fishing in a remote area without certified scales, the IGFA allows you to bring your own scale, as long as it can be certified accurate. Scales must be certified every 12 months and may also be certified after the catch.
Not every scale you can buy will pass the certification process. Most hand-held digital scales are not consistently accurate enough, and the more inexpensive spring scales aren’t either. I use a Boga-grip™ and get it certified each winter in advance of the fishing season. You aren’t required to have witnesses to the catching or weighing of your record fish, but the IGFA calls them “highly desirable.”
Since IGFA is a conservation organization, not just the keeper of records, they recommend weighing the fish in a sling or net and then deducting the weight of the empty net or sling. Releasing trophy fish in good condition is important, and using a sling or net, rather than hanging the fish by the jaw, increases the chance of a healthy release.
Once you fill out all the parts of the application, send it, along with all those photos of your catch, to IGFA for processing. In the packet, you’ll need to include the fly, attached to the full length of the leader and at least one inch of your fly line. Here is where many anglers get tripped up. IGFA will test your leader material’s breaking strength. If it tests too high, they will check it against the tippet class record closest to, but not under, where your tippet tested. Most monofilaments will test well over their labeled pound test, so don’t be fooled. You can either send your tippet material to IGFA for testing before you set out for records or you can buy Ande™ mono. More records have been set on Ande™ line than any other because it consistently tests at or just below the maximum breaking strength. [NOTE: Ande now makes several types of line. Only the Tournament line is IGFA-rated to break at or just below the labeled pound test.]
There’s no free lunch, and there’s no free world record either. You must include a check for $65 with your application if you’re not a current IGFA member or $40 if you are a member in good standing. There is also a $30 charge if you want the IGFA to test your scale or your tippet material.
With over 2,500 categories of world records, there are bound to be some within the reach of just about every angler. You might need to target a species you don’t normally go after, or carry an array of tippet sizes, but records are out there. Rig to be compliant, carry what you need to document your catch, and get fishing. Your dream of catching a world record fish could come true.
SIDEBAR: Categories of Records
The largest recorded specimen of each fish caught in accordance with IGFA rules is known as the “All-Tackle” record, regardless of the type of equipment or line weight on which it was caught. These are the big boys. Since IGFA recognizes line up to 130-pound test, some monster fish are All-Tackle records, including a Black marlin of 1560 pounds and a Pacific Bluefin tuna that tipped the scales at 716 pounds, 8 ounces.
The IGFA began maintaining state records a few years ago, and each state is allotted five species of fish recognized as state records. In my home state of Kansas, Largemouth bass, Channel catfish, Walleye, White bass and landlocked Striped bass qualify for state records. There are state record classes for conventional tackle and fly rod (tippet classes 4, 12 and 20 pound only).
There are also world and state records for female anglers, juniors (under 11 – 16 years old) and smallfry (10 and under). Women’s tippet-class records are maintained only for saltwater species. Junior and smallfry records are not kept specifically for fly rods, but a fish caught on fly tackle in accordance with the rules would qualify for the junior and smallfry records.