482-Pound Pacific Halibut Not IGFA Record

77-year-old Alaska angler Jack McGuire was fishing with with Captain Rye Phillips this past week, when he hooked into a 482-pound halibut. That fish surpassed the current IGFA record set in 1996 of 459 pounds by 23 pounds.

But, McGuire’s fish won’t be certified by IGFA as a record, because thirty minutes into the fight, McGuire asked Captain Phillips for assistance, and Phillips shot and harpooned the fish. IGFA rules discount any fish as a record when the angler has received assistance from someone else.

Record or not, that’s a tremendous fish. Congratulations to Mr. McGuire.