Angler hopes 27-pound smallmouth buffalo fish shatters Texas record

Last year, Kentucky angler Art Weston set four records with one catch — and now he is ready to add another to his roster in the New Year.

On Dec. 18, 2023, Weston was joined by Austin Anderson, a fishing guide with CarpPro Texas Guide Service, who specializes in catching world-record buffalo fish. The pair embarked on a trip to Austin, Texas, to catch smallmouth buffalo fish.

"A buffalo is a type of indigenous fish to many parts of the United States that is often confused with carp, but it is part of the sucker family and requires specific techniques to fish for them successfully (often with what are called hair rigs)," Weston told Fox News Digital.

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"Buffalo fish can grow to well over 80 pounds and live nearly 100 years," he added.

After months of preparation, Weston and Anderson were determined to take on a world record that is not for the faint of heart — a 2-pound line class record.

"Which means, hooking and catching the largest buffalo on line that breaks with just 2-pounds of force. [The] 2-pound line is the thinnest line that is manufactured in the world for fishing," Weston said. 

While buffalo fish are traditionally caught from the shoreline with bait spread out in the shallow area, Weston chose a different route, as he was using such a light line that is prone to snag, he said.

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The angler and his guide opted to use Anderson’s boat, known as the "Buffalo Battleship."

Weston and Anderson lined up multiple fishing rods with "’bite alarms’ that trigger a loud beep when the fish takes the hook," Weston said.

"Given the line breaks at just 2 pounds of force, we used a very small hook that would not require me to ‘set the hook’ as that could easily break the line at the start of the fight," he added.

Using Anderson’s 360-degree Sonar system, the fishermen were able to identify dozens of buffalo fish in their chosen spot.

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"We knew we picked a great spot," Weston said.

After 2:00 p.m., Weston and Anderson heard the alarms sound off.

"I picked up the rod and began to apply slow but steady pressure, using only about 1 pound of drag on the reel," Weston said.

"One trick I learned [from] fishing light line is that you want a reel that has a low maximum drag setting, which relates to a smoother fight when only using a small amount of drag.," he added.

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Once a fish "tore off line," the two men knew they caught something large and were ready for a fight.

Weston did his best to avoid the other rods so that nothing could break his delicate line. Anderson also helped with clearing the boat deck.

"After many long runs, this particular buffalo came to the surface and Austin was ready with the net and was able to land it on the first try," Weston said.

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"For its size, it could have been a much longer fight, so we were very lucky."

Weston and Austin immediately knew that they might have caught a record-breaking fish.

Weston and Anderson got ready to weigh and measure the fish before releasing it back into the water.

Anderson had a mesh bag that was used to secure the fish, while it was kept in the water on the side of the boat to breathe.

Weston weighed the fish, which was 27 pounds — 10 pounds over the previous record set in 1995.

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The 2-pound line class record fish, reeled in 28 years ago, weighed 17 pounds, 8 ounces and was caught along the Trinity River in Texas.

Once the two were able to weigh the fish according to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) standards, Weston released the fish back into the water.

"It was such an exciting catch and release, one that will be hard to forget," Weston said.

Weston said he is still waiting to hear back from the IGFA on his new record.

Fox News reached out to Anderson and the IGFA for comment.

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