Tag: Fishing

Angler finds that catching rare wolf eel is the easy part

Tanner Wright discovered Monday that reeling a wolf eel from the depths is a lot easier than holding onto one while posing for a video.

Tanner Wright discovered Monday that reeling a wolf eel from the Southern California depths is a lot easier than holding onto one while posing for a video.

The accompanying footage shows Wright, a deckhand on the Reel Fun out of Dana Wharf Sportfishing, trying to pose with the bizarre-looking creature while Capt. Chris Pica documented his rare catch.

“Come on Tanner, grab the thing. We’re trying to get a picture. Stop screwing around,” Pica jokingly instructs.

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Wright, struggling to grab the tail of the slithering wolf eel, responds: “He needs to calm down.”

Wolf eels, a species of wolffish, are found along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Baja California, but they’re rarely caught aboard sportfishing vessels.

While they possess dangerous canine teeth and molars, and jaws designed to crush the hard shells of prey, they’re rarely aggressive toward humans and are a prized sighting for scuba divers.

They reside mostly in rocky caves and crevices, where they prey on invertebrates such as crabs, clams, mussels and urchins. But wolf eels also will ambush small fish.

Donna Kalez, general manager of Dana Wharf Sportfishing, said Wright caught his wolf eel on a sardine at a depth of nearly 300 feet. It was kept alive in the bait tank overnight, and released Tuesday.

On Wednesday the landing announced that it would cease operations at least through March 31 in cooperation with coronavirus-related closures mandated by Orange County.

–Images of Tanner Wright with wolf eel are courtesy of Dana Wharf Sportfishing

Angler lands record carp after marathon battle

A Nevada angler who has caught dozens of trophy-class carp during the past several months finally landed a record breaker.

A Nevada angler who has caught dozens of trophy-size carp over the past several months finally landed a record breaker.

But only after a marathon struggle and a commendable effort to ensure that the 35-pound, 3-ounce carp could be safely released after it was certified as the new state record.

Brenden Burnham, who was fishing Sunday afternoon at Virginia Lake in Reno, told For The Win Outdoors that he had failed to cast one of his baits where he wanted to, but left it in the water anyway.

Soon, his line began to twitch.

“I decided to pick the rod out of the rod holder and put a bit of tension on the line,” Burnham said. “As soon as I did the line just smoked off of the reel. There was absolutely no stopping the fish from going where it wanted to.

RELATED: Angler picks wrong day to land record-size paddlefish

“People started crowding around watching me battle this fish, as this is a park lake so gets pretty crowded.”

Burnham, 41, battled the carp for 45 minutes and had to wade far into the shallows to net his catch, which he believed rivaled the existing state record of 34 pounds, 10 ounces.

“I knew exactly what the previous state record was, so I knew what I needed the fish to be in order to beat it,” Burnham said.

While transferring the carp from a net to his carp cradle, used to keep fish immobile and submerged so they can eventually be released, he asked someone in the crowd to telephone the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

An agency biologist arrived to weigh and certify Burnham’s catch, then watched him set it free.

The NDOW announced the new record Monday via Facebook.

Said Burnham: “I had been trying for the state record and my good friends knew this.  Just three days before I had caught five carp out of this lake which has never happened – I don’t believe – for anyone.

“The weights were 14 pounds, 17 pounds, 27 pounds, 29 pounds and finally 30.5 pounds. I knew the potential for the state record was there and, well, the rest is history.”

The Nevada Department of Wildlife considers carp weighing 15 pounds or more to be trophy class. Burnham said he caught and released 46 trophy-size carp in 2019, and six so far this year.

On Sunday he was fishing with 20-pound-test line. When asked to reveal what he used as bait, he respectfully declined.

–Images are courtesy of Brenden Burnham

Watch: Bull sharks steal anglers’ catch in frenzied attack

Passengers on a Florida sportfishing charter witnessed up close the raw power of voracious bull sharks as they attacked a hooked sailfish.

Passengers on a recent Florida sportfishing charter witnessed up close the raw power of voracious bull sharks as they attacked a sailfish that had been reeled to the stern.

The accompanying footage, captured by Rhonda’s Osprey on Feb. 26 off Palm Beach, shows the chaotic moments after at least two bull sharks appeared after one of the crew had grabbed the wire leader in an attempt to safely release the sailfish.

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“Grab its bill!” Capt. Joe Drosey is heard saying, only to bemoan moments later, “Ain’t nothing to grab now.”

First mate Sasha Lickle was closest to the action, smartly keeping her arms raised as she held the leader, watching helplessly as the sharks devoured the catch.

Drosey told the Miami Herald that this type of dramatic encounter is occurring more frequently as sharks have appear to have discovered that a hooked game fish is a lot easier to catch as a free-swimming game fish.

“Sailfish swim 65 mph, so they can’t catch them on their own,” Drosey explained. “It’s a huge problem. Three years ago, I’d say sharks ate 5 to 10 percent of the fish we caught. Last year, it was about 10 to 15 percent. This year, 25 percent of every one we catch are eaten.”

–Video courtesy of Rhonda’s Osprey, via the Miami Herald

Catch of prehistoric longnose gar sets record

A Maryland angler who was fishing for catfish on Monday ended up landing a state-record longnose gar.

A Maryland angler who was fishing for catfish on Monday ended up landing a state-record longnose gar.

“I didn’t even know what it was at first,” Samson Matthews, 22, said of his bizarre-looking catch on Marshyhope Creek in Dorchester County.

The fish weighed 18.3 pounds, narrowly beating a record set last year. It was announced as the new state Chesapeake Division record Wednesday by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

After the fish was weighed on a certified scale, Matthews released it back into the creek.

RELATED: Angler picks wrong day to land record-size paddlefish

The MDNR describes the longnose gar as “a prehistoric fish distinguished by its long nose and hard scales.”

The fish have been present in North America for about 100 million years. Their tough hides were used by settlers and Native Americans as shield covers.

They’re found in inshore waters and estuaries, and prey largely on small fish, crustaceans, and insects. According to the MDNR, the most common fishing method for longnose gar is with a bow or spear.

Matthews was creek fishing near the Nanticoke River, using chunks of gizzard shad as bait for blue catfish, when he felt a heavy tug.

“Honestly, it didn’t fight much at all until it broke the surface, and that’s when I realized what it was,” Matthews told For The Win Outdoors. “Once it broke the surface it started thrashing around and jumping until we got it in the net.”

Matthews added: “I knew it was big, but I had no clue it was big enough to be a record.”

For the sake of comparison, the International Game Fish Assn. lists as the all-tackle world record a 50-pound longnose gar caught on the Trinity River in Texas in 1954.

–Longnose gar images are via the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (top) and Wikimedia Commons

Monster catfish caught after wild boat chase

A Georgia angler received the surprise of a lifetime when a giant catfish devoured his striped bass lure and led him on a chaotic chase.

A Georgia angler received the surprise of a lifetime when a giant blue catfish devoured his striped bass lure and led him on a 300-yard, 35-minute chase.

Gene Fleming was fishing with his brother-in-law on Goat Rock Lake last Sunday when the unexpected bite occurred. Both anglers had baits on the bottom for catfish, while casting lures with lighter lines for striped bass.

RELATED: Angler picks wrong day to land record-size paddlefish

Fleming was using only 8-pound-test line when the 63-pound catfish struck.

“I thought I had hooked the biggest striper I had ever hung,” Fleming, who is from nearby Phenix City, Ala., told Georgia Outdoor News. “When this fish came out of the creek and hit the main channel, he almost stripped me dry.”

There was almost no chance of landing the fish on such light line while anchored, so Billy Leffinghamwell, the brother-in-law, hurriedly pulled anchor and started to reel in the other lines while the catfish plowed down the Chattahoochee River. (Goat Rock Lake is on the river above Columbus.)

“He started reeling as we went, but we were dragging catfish rods behind us, and the catfish was pulling us down river,” Fleming said.

The anglers caught up to the catfish 25 minutes later.

“It took me about 25 minutes just to pull him up to the boat where I could see what he was and another 10 minutes where we could get just his head in the net,” Fleming told Georgia Outdoor News. “It took both of us to get him in the boat.”

The catfish, weighed at Lee’s Crossing Feed and Seed, measured 4 feet, 2 inches, and boasted a 36-inch girth.

For the sake of comparison, the all-tackle world record for blue catfish stands at 143 pounds. But that fish, caught in 2011 at Buggs Island, Va., was landed with 50-pound-test line.

–Image courtesy of Gene Fleming

 

Angler picks wrong day to land record-size paddlefish

An Oklahoma angler’s recent catch of a giant paddlefish would have shattered the state record had it been caught on a different day.

An Oklahoma angler’s catch of a 157-pound paddlefish last Friday would have shattered the state record had it been caught on just about any other day.

Justin Hamlin landed the odd-looking behemoth while fishing on Keystone Lake with Capt. Jeremiah Mefford of Reel Good Time Guide Service.

The paddlefish tipped a boat scale at 157 pounds. But state regulations designed to protect the fishery require that all paddlefish caught on Fridays and Mondays must be released.

Justin Hamlin with 157-pound paddlefish. Photo: Reel Good Time Guide Service

Hamlin, therefore, was not able to have his catch officially weighed or certified by a state biologist, and the state record still stands at 132 pounds, 8 ounces, for a 2018 catch on the Arkansas River.

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However, that does not diminish the experience for the captain or angler.

“I think my heart was close to beating out of my chest,” Mefford told For The Win Outdoors. “I’m an avid deer hunter and it was like seeing a dream buck come out right in front of you. The difference was this fish was landed and we did not have to talk about the one that got away.”

Justin Hamlin wrestles with catch before it’s released. Photo: Reel Good Time Guide Service

Mefford added: “Heartbroken not to have it official, but Justin had a great attitude about it, and appreciation for the laws.”

Paddlefish are plankton eaters so snagging is the most effective angling method. Oklahoma regulations allow anglers to keep one per day except on Mondays and Fridays, when all fish “must be released immediately.”

Anglers can only use barbless hooks, which allow for easy releases.

Keystone Lake-record paddlefish stands at 125.6 pounds. Photo: Reel Good Time Guide Service

Mefford said Hamlin snagged his 5-foot-long paddlefish with a large treble hook attached to 80-pound-test line. The fight lasted about 10 minutes.

The Keystone Lake record for paddlefish stands at 125.6 pounds, Mefford said.

American paddlefish, closely related to sturgeon, are native to the Mississippi River Basin and fossil records date back millions of years.

–Photos showing Justin Hamlin with his record-size paddlefish and the Keystone Lake record paddlefish (bottom image) are courtesy of Reel Good Time Guide Service

Kayak fisherman towed 15 miles by ‘record’ marlin

A kayak fisherman in Panama caught what was unofficially being called a record for a black marlin caught from a kayak.

A kayak fisherman hooked up with an estimated 500-pound black marlin in front of a Panama fishing lodge and by the time the battle was over, he was 15 miles from the point in which he started.

The recent catch by Adam Fisk was unofficially considered a world record for a black marlin caught from a kayak and it came a year after he caught an estimated 450-pounder in a kayak from the same spot.

Fisk of Los Buzos Resort, a kayak fishing destination on the Pacific Coast of Panama, called it an “epic experience.” After a 4-hour, 37-minute battle, he reeled the marlin close enough to touch the 15-foot leader to constitute a catch and turned the rod over to Robert Field on a boat to ensure the marlin lived.

“We decided to transfer the rod to the boat to save the marlin’s life,” Field explained to USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. “Marlin are notorious for fighting so hard and for so long that they die of exhaustion. It’s quite common, even when the angler intends to release the fish unharmed.

“From a kayak, Adam simply could not physically put enough pressure on the marlin to shorten the fight, and we knew if he continued from the kayak, the fight would drag on for hours longer and the fish’s chance of survival would plummet. We didn’t anticipate it taking me another 90 minutes in the boat to bring her up.”

The entire battle lasted 6 hours, 12 minutes before the marlin was close enough to the panga to cut it loose.

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“The power of a monster like this is unbelievable especially when you are battling it from a kayak,” Fisk, a managing partner in the resort who is from Florida, told Outdoor Life. “I have pretty big gear that I target marlin with out here and even with it, sometimes I feel like the fish doesn’t even know I am pulling on it.”

One of the best parts about the battle is that Field, who produces new fishing episodes each week for his YouTube channel called YakFish TV, captured the entire thing on video and posted it Tuesday.

After the marlin puts on an aerial display, you can hear Field saying in the video, “That is the most insane thing I’ve ever seen come out of the water. That is crazy. It looked so ridiculous next to that little boat. It’s so much bigger than Adam and that kayak together.”

Concluded Fisk on his Facebook page, “I can’t think of a more epic experience to happen in the world of kayak fishing and the fact that Robert Field was here to capture it all is absolutely incredible. This catch is one for the books and one we will all be telling for the rest of our lives. So proud of the whole team!”

Photos courtesy of Robert Field of YakFish TV. 

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Angler lands giant muskie through narrow hole in ice

A Maine angler discovered Sunday that fighting a 27-pound muskie is not nearly as challenging as getting the fish through the ice.

A Maine fishermen discovered Saturday that fighting a 27-pound muskie is not nearly as challenging as landing such a hefty fish through an 8-inch hole in the ice.

The accompanying footage shows Wade Kelly, a participant in the Long Lake Ice Fishing Derby at Glazier Lake, plunging his entire left arm into the frigid water in an attempt to carefully lift his catch through the narrow opening.

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The muskie was so big that its head needed to be positioned perfectly to fit through the hole, and so heavy that the line might have broken had Kelly attempted to reel the fish onto the ice.

“His head was crossways to the hole [and it wouldn’t fit through],” Kelly told the Bangor Daily News. “That’s why my hand went down in the hole.”

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Kelly, a guide with Tylor Kelly Camps, knew that muskies possess incredibly sharp teeth. So on his third attempt he successfully gripped the fish by its gill plate and performed a perfect extraction, to the great surprise of his wife.

Wade Kelly poses with his prize-winning muskie. Photo: Steve St. Jarre

“Oh my gosh, Wade, that is a monster!” Sue Underhill Kelly says in the footage.

She later told For the Win Outdoors: “He knew it was big but didn’t say anything to me, so I was astonished to see a muskie of that size come up in his hand.”

The 47-inch muskie weighed 26 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned Kelly first place in the muskie category of the two-day derby. Kelly’s fish beat the second-place muskie by nearly three pounds.

–Images showing Wade Kelly with his muskie are courtesy of Sue Underhill Kelly (top) and Steve St. Jarre

Rare blue dorado caught off Mexico

A dorado caught last week off Mexico was exceptional not because of its size, but for its extraordinary coloration.

A dorado caught last week off Mexico was exceptional not because of its size, but because of its extraordinary coloration.

Keith Proudman, part of a group from British Columbia, Canada, caught a dorado that was strikingly blue, in glaring contrast to the typical greenish-gold dorado caught by his fellow anglers.

“We could see the colors in the water and were unsure what it was,” Dave Ball, part of the charter off Barra de Navidad in the state of Jalisco, told For The Win Outdoors. “The skipper knew, though.”

Keith Proudman (right) poses with blue dorado. Photo: Dave Ball

Dorado, as the Spanish name implies, flash golden hues while chasing bait and fighting on the hook. Their colors fade noticeably, however, after they’ve been gaffed and boated (see photos).

But not every dorado lives up to its name. Every so often, a blue dorado is caught.

Powder-blue dorado caught in Sea of Cortez. Photo: Dave Maynard

In 2013, Dave Maynard was part of a group fishing in the Sea of Cortez. They caught 154 dorado in four days, and six of them were blue.

More recently, Mark Rayor of Jen Wren Sportfishing in Baja California’s East Cape region, logged the rare catch of a silver dorado.

“They’re an odd fish and turn all sorts of colors,” he said.

What a typical bull dorado looks like. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

Proudman, who is from Victoria but now lives in Barra de Navidad, was hosting his Canadian friends during the fishing charter.

Ball, who lives in Campbell River, B.C., said the group caught three dorado, using mullet as bait, before Proudman hooked his “prized blue dorado.”

“The first three were real good fighters, with runs and multiple jumps,” Ball said. “But the blue one was a little smaller and came right alongside the boat.”

Silver dorado caught in Sea of Cortez. Photo: Mark Rayor

Dorado, also known as mahi-mahi and dolphinfish, are famously acrobatic and prized as table fare.

They inhabit tropical and subtropical waters around the world and are typically encountered far offshore, often in large schools beneath floating debris.

The International Game Fish Assn. lists as the all-tackle world record an 87-pound dolphinfish caught off Papagayo Gulf, Costa Rica.

Fisherman who pled guilty to cruel act on fish is sentenced

A man who used a power saw to cut off the nose of a live smalltooth sawfish and later pled guilty to it has learned his fate from the court.

A fisherman who used a power saw to cut off the nose of a live smalltooth sawfish and later pled guilty of killing the endangered species has learned his fate in court.

Chad Ponce, 38, of Jacksonville, Fla., was sentenced to 80 hours of community service and two years probation, and fined $2,000 for the cruel act, which was confirmed by a joint investigation by NOAA Fisheries and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, NOAA Fisheries revealed Thursday.

Ponce, who initially denied any wrongdoing, had faced up to a year in federal prison and a $50,000 fine after pleading guilty in November. A judge sentenced him on Dec. 19, but it only became public a couple days ago.

From NOAA Fisheries:

The St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office and FWC received a tip reporting the capture and gross mishandling of a large (12-14 foot) smalltooth sawfish off the coast of Ponte Vedra, Florida, on July 18, 2018. The sawfish was incidentally caught in one of Ponce’s commercial shrimp trawl nets earlier that day.

Upon retrieval of the net, Ponce, captain of the Triton II, first attempted to use a hacksaw on the rostrum, but witnesses report he tossed that saw into the ocean when it didn’t work. Ponce then used a power saw to cut the rostrum off the live animal. Another fisherman in a vessel adjacent to the trawler witnessed the incident and reported it to FWC’s Report Sawfish for Science Hotline.

Ponce then tossed the smalltooth sawfish back into the ocean.

Photo of the smalltooth sawfish showing injury associated with recent rostrum removal in the Florida Keys. Photo: NOAA Fisheries

NOAA and FWC immediately opened an investigation, and FWC sent an officer offshore to the location of the Triton II on the day of the report. DNA evidence connecting Ponce to the crime was gathered during the investigation.

The rostrum of the sawfish is used to locate and disable its prey, and is believed to also carry sensory cells that assist in it orienting itself to time and location. The smalltooth sawfish cannot survive without its rostrum.

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“The smalltooth sawfish is one of five sawfish species worldwide and the only one still found in U.S. waters,” NOAA Fisheries stated. “All five species of sawfishes are in danger of extinction and listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, as well as some international authorities.”

Photos courtesy of Wikipedia Commons, Getty Images and NOAA Fisheries, in that order.

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