Fishing – Syndication Server

‘History of Sportfishing’ film series said to be worthy of Smithsonian

“The Endless Summer” meets Ken Burns is how Michael Fowlkes imagined this documentary, one filled with compelling vintage footage and photos.

When Michael Fowlkes set out to make “The History of Sportfishing,” he imagined a documentary likened to the movie “The Endless Summer” meeting Ken Burns, and based on the reactions from those who have watched it, he succeeded.

“This film should be in the Smithsonian,” one viewer of the series stated.

“The History of Sportfishing” is a 12-part documentary filled with compelling vintage footage and photos, including historical footage of famous author and fisherman Zane Grey becoming the first to land a 1,000-pound fish on rod and reel.

Fowlkes, an award-winning producer/director who has spent over 50 years on the water fishing and filming, spent four years completing the 12-hour film series, which is now available online. A preview of Chapter 1 is offered on YouTube.

Some of the other reactions by those who have viewed the series:

“Absolutely riveting.”

“My girlfriend was away for the weekend, sat down Saturday afternoon to look at the first episode and ended up binge watching the entire series. I couldn’t turn it off.”

“I am amazed at how extensive and well done this project is.”

“Incredibly well done and thorough.”

“A truly amazing historic documentary.”

George Farnsworth with his 336-pound black sea bass caught near Catalina Island off Southern California in 1903.

Clinton Morehous on July 3, 1899 with his world-record bluefin tuna caught off Catalina Island in the early days of sportfishing.

The positive reviews should not come as a surprise. Fowlkes has produced 24 feature films on the sport of fishing, including the highly acclaimed classic called “A Tribute to Tuna.”

Perhaps most notably, his award-winning “Inside Sportfishing” television series ran for 27 consecutive years and became the highest-rated, and longest-running fishing show in the history of FOX Sports West, earning 27 International Telly Awards for broadcast excellence.

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“For over a decade I’ve envisioned telling the story of how big-game fishing got started [and doing so] in an action-driven documentary-style format,” Fowlkes told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. “I imagined `The Endless Summer’ meets Ken Burns for sportfishing.”

Young girl poses with 11 white sea bass averaging 50 pounds, caught on rod and reel off Catalina Island in the early days.

Legendary angler Michael Lerner and his team hauling in a catch. Note the vintage camera setup atop the boat.

Angler Paavo Kotonen weighing a 145.5-pound marlin at the Balboa Angling Club in Southern California in 1948. The fight lasted 3 hours, 40 minutes.

Lou Marron poses with the 1,182-pound broadbill swordfish he caught in 1953 in Iquique, Chile. It is a world record that still stands today.

“My earliest memories are of fishing with family,” Fowlkes told For The Win Outdoors. “Over the years it wove itself into every part of my life. To have an opportunity to give something back to this sport at this point in my life has truly been a privilege and an honor.

“The film is a joyous celebration of the sport, preserving its history and helping to secure its future for generations to come.”

Photos courtesy of Michael Fowlkes and Inside Sportfishing.

Fisherman lands a rare ‘super cow’ of world-record size

A fisherman hit the jackpot by landing a yellowfin tuna weighing well over 400 pounds in a battle that had an unusual ending.

A fisherman on a long-range fishing trip out of San Diego hit the jackpot by landing a yellowfin tuna weighing a whopping 443 pounds, or 16 pounds more than the current world record for a yellowfin taken on rod and reel.

Earl Gill IV caught the “super cow” while on a 10-day trip aboard the Excel, which was fishing the Lower Banks off Baja earlier this month, as reported by Sport Fishing Magazine.

In fishing vernacular, a cow is referred to as a yellowfin tuna that weighs over 200 pounds. One that weighs over 300 pounds is called a super cow.

Super cows over 400 pounds are a rarity, as yellowfin tuna that large are known to slow down and die of starvation because they can’t keep up with the school to feed. At least that is one explanation handed down from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, according to one commenter on the Excel Facebook page.

“It was my first cow!” Gill told Sport Fishing Magazine. “I was hoping for a warmup cow, but I ended up getting the big one. The Makaira gearing worked perfectly. I think a lot of things lined up to help me land this fish.”

The Excel revealed Gill used a Makaira 20 reel with 100-pound Phenix Braid and a short top-shot of 100-pound Seaguar Fluorocarbon with a Melton Tackle Kuro Monster rod.

Using a 4/0 hook with a chunk bait, Gill dropped it down to 150 feet where the yellowfin grabbed the bait and took off, and sent him racing toward the bow while other anglers fought smaller fish.

Gill told Sport Fishing Magazine he knew he had something special on the line. Fortunately, the yellowfin stopped short of spooling Gill, and after an hour they were at a stalemate.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Fisherman catches a rare super cow using a balloon

Capt. Justin Fleck finally pulled up the anchor and positioned the boat over the fish in an effort to get it off the bottom. Slowly Gill gained on the fish. As it got closer to the surface, Gill couldn’t feel the usual tail beating of a tuna swimming in death spirals. The crew thought maybe he had hooked a different species.

The mystery unfolded once the fish was at the surface. The yellowfin had died, and Gill was pulling up dead weight.

Once back in port on Nov. 17, the yellowfin tuna was weighed on a certified scale, and the fish was submitted to the International Game Fish Association for record consideration, according to Sport Fishing Magazine.

If approved, Gill’s yellowfin would supplant the current world record of 427 pounds caught by Guy Yocom off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Photos courtesy of the Excel and Earl Gill IV.

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Bowfisherman shoots record brown trout, sparking anger online

“Absolute waste of a trophy trout,” one critic wrote in response to the announcement by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks.

South Dakota last week recognized a new state bowfishing record for brown trout, stirring anger on social media.

“New state record alert!” South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks exclaimed via social media. “Ty Smith broke a record in the ‘bowfishing’ category with this 6lb, 12oz brown trout out of Lake Oahe. Congratulations, Ty!”

The issue some had was that brown trout are prized by most hook-and-line anglers (notably fly anglers) as a catch-and-release species. Trophy-size trout, they maintain, ought to be returned to the water.

“Absolute [waste] of a trophy trout, no records broken only a giant lost,” reads the top Facebook comment, which garnered more than 600 reactions.

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South Dakota keeps hook-and-line records in a separate category.

Bowfishing records are part of a larger category described as “unrestricted records.” Unrestricted methods include spearing, snagging, and bow-and-arrow.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBryjD9q17o/

“I didn’t know this was a thing, or even ethical or legal,” one follower chimed in, in reference to bowfishing.

While many were critical of Smith, lots of followers were supportive.

A sampling:

–“Awesome trophy and great eating! The great sport of bowfishing continues to be awesome!”

–“Probably cooked up just fine.”

–“Fly fishermen are liberals of the sport.”

For those wondering, the South Dakota hook-and-line record for brown trout stands at 24 pounds, 8 ounces, for a fish caught (and kept) at Canyon Lake in 1990.

The world record is listed as a 44-pound, 5-ounce brown trout caught in New Zealand in 2020.

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Angler ‘still in shock’ after landing pending-record swordfish

Luc Ofield battled the massive swordfish for nearly five hours off San Diego; his catch could shatter the existing California record.

A San Diego angler last Sunday battled a massive swordfish for nearly five hours and returned to port in the dark with a potential record catch.

The swordfish landed by Luc Ofield tipped the San Diego Marlin Club scale at 666.2 pounds. A second weigh-in recorded a weight of 663.8 pounds.

The current California record stands at 520 pounds, for a swordfish caught off San Diego in October 2023. (It can take weeks for the state to review new record submissions.)

“After a 4.5 hours long battle with the gladiator of the sea, Luc and Dave managed to subdue this monster of a Swordfish!” the San Diego Marlin Club announced Monday via Instagram. “666.2 lbs weighed at the Marlin Club last night and it looks like this will take the new California State Record Swordfish!”

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBdFfYmRWaN/

Ofield, who works at Angler’s Choice Tackle in San Diego, issued a statement Tuesday via Instagram, noting the lower weight and a longer fighting period:

“The ultimate battle with a Goliath of the sea! I have the utmost respect for this fish and the amazing battle it gave. 4 hours and 50 minutes of raw strength. Thanks to the boat skills of my buddy Dave, or this fish would have never made it to the scales.

“Thanks to Dylan, Michael, Todd, Jack, for helping record this piece of history once we reached the dock. 663.8 lbs! New pending state record. Still in shock.”

For comparison, the all-tackle world record stands at 1,182 pounds. That record, which might never be broken, was set in 1953 off Iquique, Chile.

‘Taxman’ claims share but wants more as anglers land swordfish

Footage shows anglers posing with a partially consumed swordfish as the still-hungry mako shark circles the boat.

Anglers out of San Diego boated a large swordfish recently, but not before an equally large mako shark claimed part of the catch.

“The taxman took his share, but Pacifica Sportfishing managed most of a swordfish on the first day of their trip,” Seaforth Landing explained via Instagram.

The image shows five anglers posing with a swordfish whose lower body had been shredded by the shark as the swordfish was being reeled to the boat.

A swipe-through features video footage showing the mako shark swimming near the boat as one passenger remarks, “He’s wondering where his meal went.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBHZ7N9zrSw/?img_index=1

Swordfish catches by recreational anglers are rare off Southern California, but it’s not rare for sharks to go after any large fish that’s struggling at the end of a fishing line.

Sharks that claim part or all of a hooked game fish are commonly referred to as tax collectors or, singularly, the taxman.

Marlin causes ‘huge commotion’ before being caught in Cabo marina

Footage shows the marlin inside the harbor at Baja California’s tip. “Of course this caused huge commotion on the docks.”

Last summer we shared footage showing a sailfish – described by National Geographic as “the fastest fish in the ocean” – swimming inside Mexico’s Cabo San Lucas Marina.

The rare appearance was brief as the sailfish soon breezed back into bluer offshore waters, where it belonged.

On Sunday a striped marlin was caught on video swimming around the docks in the same marina, at Baja California’s tip, in another rare event that did not end well for the billfish. (See footage below.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DA1HUZ5PCoc/

“So this happened yesterday… A Striped Marlin made its way into the Cabo Marina in front of our Pisces Office!” Pisces Sportfishing exclaimed Monday via Instagram. “The Marlin cruised around the slips seemingly confused in the shallow water.

“Of course this caused huge commotion on the docks and unfortunately for the Marlin a group of men caught it later on.”

Pisces spokeswoman Rebecca Ehrenberg told FTW Outdoors that the marlin was gaffed and hauled onto a dock.

Cabo San Lucas is billed as “The Marlin Capital of the World,” but most encounters occur in the deep blue – and most anglers release the marlin they hook.

But the marina, positioned where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez, is occasionally visited by creatures more commonly found in offshore waters.

Ehrenberg said a marlin entered the marina last year, too, and that in late August a school of large squid was captured on video in an “amazing sight” under the lights at night.

“Right in front of Captain Tony’s [restaurant] – calamari anybody,” Pisces joked via Facebook. “Maybe they came for the music.”

That reel can be viewed via this link or in the player below.

Fishermen make rare catch: A doomsday fish, but with a seahorse head?

Oarfish live at great depths, are mostly seen washed ashore, and are a sign of impending doom, as legend has it, but rarely look like this.

Those familiar with oarfish know that they live at great depths, are mostly seen dead and washed up on shore, and are often referred to as a doomsday fish because seeing one is a warning sign of impending doom, or at least as legend has it.

And they are hardly ever caught by fishermen, since they live in depths from 600 to over 3,000 feet.

So it was a rare catch when two fishermen off the Top End of Australia landed the serpent-like sea creature and held up their prized catch, a giant oarfish, for a photo.

Skipper Curtis Peterson of Tiwi Islands Adventures led the night-time fishing excursion last week off Melville Island where the unidentified anglers made the catch, according to the Daily Mail Australia.

The image of the catch was posted on the Fishing Australia TV Facebook page where commenters questioned the odd-looking head that looked like a seahorse or an oarfish with a horse’s head. But one commenter correctly explained that the mouth is extended, much like a John Dory fish.

One feature of the oarfish is a “protrusible mouth,” or a mouth capable of being extended, which might have occurred while being caught.

It is worth noting that this is the first recorded sighting of an oarfish in the Top End, according to Yahoo Australia.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard someone land a fish like that up here,” NT News fishing columnist Alex Julius said, according to Daily Mail Australia. “It’s also very rare to land one of these fish, most being found washed up ashore already deceased.”

Photo credit: Wm. Leo Smith/Wikipedia Commons

A giant oarfish washed ashore near San Diego, California, in September 1996, and a group of U.S. Navy SEALS held up the 23-foot-long sea creature.

As for its reputation of being a warning sign of doom, well, it’s not true. Or is it?

From Live Science:

In traditional Japanese legend, oarfish were known as “ryugu no tsukai” meaning “the messenger from the sea dragon god’s palace.” People believed oarfish would come up from the deep to warn people when an earthquake was imminent. This myth caused a stir in 2011 when 20 oarfish washed ashore in the months before Japan was struck by the country’s most powerful earthquake.

While there is no evidence to back up the link between oarfish sightings and earthquakes, in August 2024 snorkelers found an oarfish in California — two days before an earthquake hit the region. However, scientists believe this was a coincidence.

Epic shot of leaping tuna almost as good as photographer’s reaction

Footage shows a jubilant photographer as he realizes he has timed his shot of the approaching tuna perfectly.

Dramatic footage showing a giant tuna nearly leaping into a boat while chasing a bait is circulating this week via social media.

“Incredible capture by [Daniel Svensson Persson] of this bluefin fully launching itself right next to the boat⁠,” BD Outdoors exclaimed Wednesday via Instagram. (See video below.)

ALSO ON FTW OUTDOORS: Taxman comes calling after angler in Mexico hooks giant tuna

The footage is compelling because the tuna approaches like a missile and is only yards from the vessel when it leaps. But the highlight might be a jubilant Persson’s reaction while communicating to friends that he had just timed a perfect shot.

Check out the footage:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAEi1oWixy1/

Texas angler’s record sucker is massive, could get much bigger

The behemoth smallmouth buffalo, landed in Austin, Texas, was less than 10 pounds shy of the 31-year-old world record.

A Texas angler has been awarded a state catch-and-release angling record nearly three months after landing a massive smallmouth buffalo at an Austin reservoir.

Texas Parks and Wildlife announced the record Friday via social media, stating: “Look what’s still swimming in Lady Bird Lake. At 71 lb, this Smallmouth Buffalo is a new state record and was released to grow some more.”

Austin Anderson reeled in the enormous fish, a member of the sucker family, on June 10.

For comparison, the state rod-and-reel record for smallmouth buffalo (not released) stands at 82.22 pounds for a fish caught in 1993 at Athens Lake. That catch, by Randy Collins, is also the current world record for the species.

Smallmouth buffalo are native to the Mississippi River and its major tributaries and surrounding waters.

From Texas Parks and Wildlife: “The species is also found in Gulf slope drainages from Alabama to the Rio Grande River drainage. In Texas, smallmouth buffalo are found in most large streams, rivers, and reservoirs exclusive of the Panhandle.”

They’re similar in appearance to bigmouth buffalo, except for a lighter coloration and “distinctive sucker-type mouth.”

Smallmouth buffalo, which can live 100-plus years, are sometimes misidentified as common carp.

Fishing captain ‘pulls rabbit out of his hat,’ resulting in a state record

Fishing was slow on Talking Trash Charters off Maryland until the skipper worked his magic.

“We had a long morning trolling with no bites,” London J. Anthony told the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. “Later in the day, Captain Chris Little…pulled a rabbit out of his hat and put us all on a pile of tilefish.”

And one of them was a state record.

On what was a double hook-up on blueline tilefish, Anthony caught a 20.6-pounder that measured 37.25 inches; the other fish was 24 inches.

“I felt like I was reeling in three cinder blocks,” Anthony said.

The captain turned away from trolling and had his clients start deep-dropping a cut ballyhoo chunk bait using a hand-cranked conventional reel. The location was Poorman’s Canyon off Ocean City.

It turned out to be a good choice, as Anthony’s fish surpassed the old state record of 20.0 pounds caught by Robert Purcell in September 2012 at Norfolk Canyon.

https://www.facebook.com/MarylandDNRFisheries/posts/pfbid02yNd1soGo2GftjcuLxY6brRznC5neT77qtmrgmabyRwQSDsLhzbVyHmB6pvPrpdxYl

Anthony’s fish was weighed on a certified scale at Crabs to Go in Berlin.

Maryland Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission chair Scott Lenox and DNR recreational fisheries coordinator Erik Zlokovitz confirmed the species and the record.