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Better pic of the GIANT Redear..

Here's a much better photo of the GIANT Redear right after she was caught. It looks like he may have been bait fishing, by the looks of those rod holders in the boat. She
measured 17" long and had a girth of 19.5"!

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Comment by Lord of the Fly , Rods on February 19, 2014 at 8:46am: The mussels were not introduced to the lake as a feeding program for Red Ears, Mother Nature is just playing the cards she is dealt , therefor it's still a Free Range Trophy, a" True Trophy," no one is adding mussels to the lake to grow bigger Red Ears, and I can tell you that lucky fisherman was targeting fish in the water, an accidental catch would have been if he had caught a squirrel or something else like that. We just need to say " Congrats Mr Fisherman for your fine catch of a " A True Free Range Trophy Red Ear ! " . You make us Proud. LOFR

Comment by Tony Livingston on February 19, 2014 at 8:14am: Oh I think we may want to re-examine the "all natural" "true trophy" "non manufactured" aspect of this fish. Not to take anything away from the angler who caught it, mind you...he deserves a lot of credit, more so in fact if he truly was targeting these fish, and it was not an accidental catch.

BUT....most agree that the reason for the exceptional growth of these redears is due largely, perhaps even mostly, to the invasion of Quagga mussels in lake havasu. An INVASIVE species of mussel I would remind everyone, not native or natural to the lake, but brought there by MAN.

In addition, Havasu was subject to an intentional weedkill program a few years back, that opened up the feeding grounds and made these invasive mussels much more accessible to the fish that prey on them. An eradication program manipulated and orchestrated by MAN.

An incredible catch? Absolutely. An all natural, hands off trophy?. Not hardly. This fish is the result of man's intervention in it's environment......management. Would I like to fish there? You know it! Would I be just as proud of my catch, knowing that it wasn't an "all natural" fish after all? I sure would!

Comment by Jim Gronaw on February 19, 2014 at 8:12am: Just astonishing! We can probably expect that record to start inching up every other year or so for a while. I can't imagine how that fish must have fought! Can you just invision that beast coming into sight at the end of your line? I think I'd have a heart attack!

Comment by Andre Sturkey on February 19, 2014 at 8:05am: SPEECHLESS!

Comment by Jeff Soto on February 19, 2014 at 7:42am: Honestly, being the old softy that I have become, I would probably be happy with some measurements, a weight, if I could get that quickly, a few good photos from different angles, and then I would put that beautiful fish back into it's home. She lived this long and got to this tremendous size, so I think she should continue to live on. Who knows, maybe next time she's caught, she'll be another pound heavier!

Comment by Lord of the Fly , Rods on February 19, 2014 at 7:24am: Yes and you have got to give this Guy credit, He had his hook in the water, and was bless with by the Fish Gods with a beautiful Free Range Trophy, The Hardest Trophy to Achieve ! , A True Trophy !. I would want to take lots of pictures, a cast of this True Trophy if possible , and then EAT IT ! LOFR

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on February 19, 2014 at 6:50am: An interesting thing here, at least to me, is this fish is "natural."
It wasn't manufactured, managed nor manipulated for this result.
Lots of food, lots of clean water and a long growing season.

Comment by Walt Foreman on February 19, 2014 at 6:48am: That would be so awesome if the new record was actually caught intentionally, as opposed to by one of those anglers who fish for that "other" fish.