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Fishing News
Arizona Angler Lands Pending World Record Redear Sunfish
Daniel Xu +
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| February 21, 2014 | |
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Hector Brito holds up a possible world record redear sunfish.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department [url "http://azgfd.net/artman/publish/FishingReport/Fishing-Report---Feb-20-2014.shtml"]announced[/url] on Thursday that the state may soon be home to the world’s largest angler-caught redear sunfish.
Hector Brito pulled his massive 5.78-pound catch from Lake Havasu on Sunday with a dropshot rig, No. 8 Aberdeen gold hook, and a nightcrawler.
“(Brito) said he thought it was a catfish,” said John Galbraith, who weighed the fish on a certified scale. “I don’t know what the genetic potential is for redear. But this record fish was not even a spawning fish. There’s some out there that are in the mid-six (pound range) easy.”
The previous record was a 5.55-pound fish caught by Bob Lawler in 2011. While certainly a state record, Brito must now wait for his fish to be confirmed as the world’s largest by the International Game Fish Association.
Wildlife officials say Lake Havasu is home to a population of unusually large sunfish because of the existence of invasive quagga mussels.
Redear sunfish, also known as shellcrackers for their habits of snacking on shellfish, are a favorite of many anglers because of their rich flavor. While they usually dine on snails, biologists have found that the fish is a useful ally against quagga mussels, which damage local ecosystems with their presence.
Redear sunfish meander along the bottoms of lakes searching for these tasty morsels, which the fish then crack open with powerful teeth and swallow in chunks. The mussel is forced through its hardened throat, where an additional set of teeth destroy the shells.
Because of their popularity with anglers and providing little direct competition for other fish, shellcrackers have been stocked in many lakes across the nation.
Image courtesy of Arizona Game and Fish Department
Any views or opinions expressed in this article are those of the author
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Good lord, that thing is a monster! And on a night crawler nonetheless. Gotta love it.
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Think they would consider planting some in Powell?
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What a hog! Ill bet it fought real good.
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Might have to upgrade that one from PANfish to GRIDDLEfish.
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I've caught quite a few red ear while stationed in the Mid West but I never saw one that looked like that, there is a reason they were called red ear and I don't see evidence of that on that fish, maybe that was a different strain of red ear. [crazy]
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I said the same thing to myself when I saw the fish Packman. Being from the midwest I have caught a few and there was never any mistaking them. Where is the red ear that gives them their name? Then again, I never heard of them being referred to as shell crackers either.
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They go by alot of different names in the South. I had heard the name shellcracker used before. Whatever it is, it's a big fish if it isn't photo shopped.
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Amen to it being a huge panfish! I have heard of shell crackers just not red ears being referred to as a shell cracker. I also have never seen one with teeth-that I noticed anyway. Just read the story about the quaga mussels in LP. Guess we may see a new fun species to fish for there. Can you imagine how big those suckers would get in the Great Lakes with the problem they have with mussels?
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It's hard to see on that one, but a shellcracker has a red margin on the rear edge of the gill flap.
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[#FF0000]Where is the red ear that gives them their name?

[#0000FF]There is a light colored edge around the dark flap on the gill covers that is sometimes a reddish color. The whole thing is not red. But you know how fishermen hang names on things.

Here is a pic of a smaller one I caught in Arizona. You can see the light colored edge on the dark gill flap.

[inline "PATAGONIA REDEAR.JPG"]
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The question now is, with the quagga's taking off in Powell, when will the stocking of shell crackers occur?

Are they the only known fish to actively feed on Quagga's?
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Oh, that makes sense….white ears!
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Here's the picture from Wiki.



I used to catch grundles of them when I lived in Mississippi and Florida. They're tasty little boogers, with a deeper flavor than bluegill - almost certainly because they dine on escargot.
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they need to get some in Powell, how fun would those be to catch on ultralight tackle[]
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Caught one of those big boys on a crankbait while in a bass trmt down there last May. Like a piranha on Ritalin. Even yelled for my partner to get the net.
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That looks like the ones we use to catch in IL. They fought harder than a bluegill so you could usually tell when you hooked one.
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what a hub cap!!!!!!!!!!
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They are in Powell..
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Is that so? Care to expound. DWR website says no.
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