A California fisherman may have broken records by catching a 10.25-pound canary rockfish

By JANIE HAR

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Northern California man caught a plump canary rockfish he says weighed in at 10.25 pounds, likely setting state and world records.

Mendocino County fisherman Brendan Walsh, 26, said he caught the fish Tuesday off the coast of Albion, about 150 miles north of San Francisco.

Walsh was headed back with his father Will Walsh after catching a few yellowtail on a cold and rainy day when he decided to make one last stop at a deeper spot. That’s where the younger Walsh landed the canary rockfish.

“It was a fluke,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Canary rockfish can grow up to 2.5 feet in length and weigh 10 lbs., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Walsh says the ones he usually catches are small and scrawny, clocking in around 3 lbs.

Walsh said the fish he caught this week was 2.25 feet long.

He submitted the catch to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which tracks angling and diving records. The current state record-holding fish weighed in at 9 lbs. and was caught last November, also in Mendocino County.

The department has a form and instructions for submitting a possible record catch, including the names and phone numbers of witnesses. Applicants are asked to contact the department for the nearest environmental scientist who can identify the catch.

Walsh said they weighed the fish at an authorized fish market nearby and a state fish and wildlife scientist who works in the area came over to sign off on the paperwork.

Walsh has also submitted his catch to the International Game Fish Association in Florida, where the world record holding 10-pound canary rockfish was caught in 1986. He says larger fish may have been caught but never submitted for record consideration.

The game fish association did not respond Friday to a request for comment.

After spending Tuesday making sure they had taken the right measurements to document the catch, Walsh’s mother, Deirdre Lamb, fried the rockfish with garlic and butter to eat on Wednesday.

The rockfish was delicious, he said.