Texas Anglers Catch Hundreds of Big Record-Setting Fish in 2024

Texas is big and so are the fish. Last year anglers in Texas broke records on how many big fish they caught.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recently announced last year was a humdinger in the size of fish caught all across the state. We've all heard people talk about the big fish they caught and every time they tell it it gets bigger. Well, these are true big fish stories!

Some of the big ones include,

Joan Swartz of Austin was fly fishing on October 15 and she brought in a smallmouth buffalo from the Brazos River. That fish weighed in at 27.95 pounds and was 34.25 inches long.

More than 957 fishermen, women and kids were awarded with big catches. There were 58 new state records set and 500 waterbody records last year.

Ernst Toepfer V of Corpus Christi caught a record-breaking alligator gar out of the Nueces River on September 22. IT weighed 90.06 pounds and was 73 inches long. Ernst earned several awards including the Junior State Record for that fish.

Rayleigh Crews caught a 14.85-pound blue catfish in Lake Bob Sandlin on February 23. She received an Outstanding Angler Award

Oliver Pope from Austin caught a common carp at Lady Bird Lake on March 9. This one weighed 39.2 pounds and was 37.5 inches in length.

Jarrett Jenkins was fishing in Galveston Bay and in just over a month he caught a lot! He brought in a southern flounder, gafftopsail catfish, black drum, sheepshead, and a red drum earning him the Saltwater Elite Angler Award.

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Talk about some big fish! And those are just a few of the hundreds of records that anglers caught in 2024 in Texas.

We are still in the beginning of 2025 and if this year is anything like last year the secret will be out and loads more anglers will be fishing for their "Big Fish' story too!