Fisherman catches his second state record, shattering previous best. ‘Absolute giant’

Already in possession of Indiana’s record for the largest shortnose gar caught in the state, Kyle Hammond has been seeking a second record for three years.

The spotted gar record had eluded the Fort Wayne native, who operates the Indiana Kayak Fishing Journal page on YouTube.

Finally, his moment came — with a fish significantly bigger than he ever imagined.

“ That is a freakin’ giant ,” Hammond said in a video posted to YouTube of him catching the behemoth fish. “That’s the biggest one I’ve ever seen I think. I am not joking. Oh, my God. Absolute giant.”

His hunch was right. When he weighed the spotted gar, it came in at an astounding 9 pounds, 11 ounces , shattering the previous record by nearly 3 pounds, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The previous record had stood since 2017.

He broke the shortnose gar record in 2021 with a 2-pound, 5.6 ounce catch , records show. Since then, he said he has been fishing for spotted gar “pretty heavily” to add to his collection of records.

State officials said in an Aug. 7 post on Facebook that Hammond used “a spinning rod and reel with a white zoom fluke” to break the record.

Hammond said he caught the fish within 20 minutes of setting out on his July 11 fishing trip on Rivir Lake in Chain O’ Lakes State Park. He commented that he never thought he would catch one as big as he did.

“A dream come true!” Hammond said in a caption on the YouTube video.

Rivir Lake is in northern Indiana, about 150 miles northeast from Indianapolis.

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