Tag: Goliath grouper

Angler jailed for possessing protected goliath grouper

A Florida man was jailed Wednesday night after he was found to be in possession of a protected goliath grouper.

A Florida man was jailed Wednesday night after he was found to be in possession of a protected goliath grouper.

In a news release issued Thursday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office stated that Marine Deputy Willie Guerra spotted Ming Horng Yin walking from the Channel #2 Bridge in Islamorada to his vehicle with a fishing rod and cooler.

Guerra inspected the cooler and found the grouper, still alive. Guerra released the grouper and arrested Yin. It was not clear how long Yin, 52, was held.

Goliath grouper have been protected in state and federal waters off Florida since 1990. In state waters, harvesting goliath grouper is punishable by a fine up to $500 per fish and up to 60 days in jail.

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Many anglers still target goliath grouper while catch-and-release fishing. But rules are strict and fish “must be immediately returned to the water free, alive and unharmed,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The goliath grouper is the largest grouper species in the Atlantic and can weigh nearly 800 pounds. According to NOAA Fisheries, its range includes the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Keys in the U.S., the Bahamas and most of the Caribbean, and coastal waters off Brazil.

–Goliath grouper image courtesy of NOAA Fisheries

Massive grouper reeled in off Florida; ‘We caught a monster’

Anglers aboard a Florida sportfishing charter caught and released several large goliath grouper last week, including a “monster” grouper that weighed perhaps 500 pounds.

Anglers on a Florida sportfishing charter caught and released several huge goliath grouper last week, including a “monster” grouper that weighed perhaps 500 pounds.

“We all started screaming and hollering when the fish came to the surface,” Joshua Jorgensen, owner of BlacktipH Fishing, told For The Win Outdoors. “It was the largest goliath grouper that we’ve seen all year.”

Brent Fielder poses with goliath grouper. Photo: Josh Jorgensen

Jorgensen was guiding a charter last Wednesday for Brent Fielder and John White of Alabama and North Carolina, respectively, when they sonar-located a school of large grouper.

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“We were fishing out of southeast Florida,” Jorgensen said. “We were using false albacore as bait. In total, we caught over 10 goliath groupers. But this fish was by far the largest, with an estimated weight of 450 to 500 pounds.”

Fielder, shown with White in the water with the colossal grouper in the top image, was credited with the catch.

For the sake of comparison, the all-tackle world record for goliath grouper stands at 680 pounds. That fish was caught off Fernandina Beach, Fla., in 1961.

Goliath grouper must be released as quickly as possible. Photo: Josh Jorgensen

Nowadays, goliath grouper are protected in state and federal waters off Florida and harvest is prohibited. Heavier fish cannot be pulled out of the water for the act of release or photographs.

Jorgensen is a seasoned grouper angler and last February he and a friend teamed to land a 294-pound Warsaw grouper, fulfilling a three-year quest to document the catch of a grouper so large that “it took four grown men to lift it over the gunnels.”

Fishing for Warsaw grouper is strictly regulated, but limited harvest is allowed.

Watch: Angler near hysterics as giant grouper explodes on bait

Video footage surfaced Friday showing the voracious nature and explosive power of Florida’s massive goliath groupers.

Video footage surfaced Friday showing the voracious nature and explosive power of Florida’s massive goliath groupers.

But what stands out in the clip (posted below) is the angler’s hysterical reaction in the moments after a grouper devoured a bonito he had reeled to the surface on light-tackle spinning gear.

Josh Jorgensen, producer of extreme fishing videos for BlacktipH, told For The Win Outdoors that he and his crew had been fishing in the Atlantic over a sunken wreck when the scene unfolded.

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

In the video Jorgensen says, “The dinner bell is ringing” as his hooked bonito languished at the surface. So it was clear they were anticipating a grouper strike.

Still, the strike occurred so quickly and suddenly that Jorgensen could not maintain his composure.

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“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!” he exclaims, before laughing uncontrollably as the grouper vanishes into the depths with the bonito.

“The grouper in the video definitely caught me off guard,” Jorgensen said. “The grouper broke me off in the wreck after it ate my bait.”

The footage was captured during an expedition several months ago, Jorgensen added.

Goliath groupers are the largest groupers in the Atlantic and can weigh up to 800 pounds.

They’re protected in state and federal waters off Florida, and anglers must release hooked fish as quickly and carefully as possible.

Huge fish pulls two anglers over side of boat in ‘fishing miracle’ tale

A fisherman reeling in giant grouper was suddenly pulled over the boat’s side, and in the process of holding on, he lost the fishing rod in wild video.

A fisherman reeling in a 450-pound Goliath grouper was suddenly pulled over the boat’s side, and in the process of holding on, he lost the fishing rod to the fish in a wild episode aptly called the “unforgettable fishing miracle,” as you’ll soon see why.

Mike was fighting a fish of a lifetime Friday aboard Chew On This Charters with Capt. Ben Chancey out of Cape Coral, Fla., when the crazy incident occurred.

Mike lost the fishing rod overboard, but fellow angler Jenny managed to use the anchor to retrieve the rod and allow Mike to finish reeling up the still-hooked fish. After Mike jumped into the water to get a photo with the fish before it was released, more craziness ensued:

Chancey explained to USA Today/For The Win Outdoors that about 20 minutes after the fishing rod was lost, Jenny said she could see it on the bottom in the crystal clear, 40-feet deep water and asked nearby boaters for goggles. One boater had some and passed them to her.

“Jenny was planning to dive down 40 feet to get the rod,” Chancey said. “I decided to drop the anchor down so she could follow the line to the rod and reel. While I was explaining what was going on [live on Facebook], Jenny hooked the rod with the anchor and started pulling the rod up. The giant Goliath grouper was still hooked on the line.”

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Jenny’s boyfriend Eric, who arranged the surprise trip for Mike’s 30th birthday, helped clear the anchor and line, and Mike finished reeling up the grouper.

As Mike jumped into the water for the photo, the fish made a mad dash to the bottom with Eric holding the rod. Eric, too, flipped over the side, but he held on to the boat and the rod. He eventually released the lever drag so line could easily exit the reel, and the rod was handed to Chancey, who managed to keep both feet on the deck and bring the fish back to the surface to be released.

“We are calling it the unforgettable fishing miracle,” Chancey told For The Win.

Photos courtesy of Chew On This Charters.

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Teen lands 583-pound grouper on second deep-sea fishing trip

A 16-year-old girl on her second deep-sea fishing trip reeled up an estimated 583-pound goliath grouper off Florida.

A 16-year-old girl who went deep-sea fishing recently for only her second time, reeled up an estimated 583-pound goliath grouper, which dwarfs the women’s world record for the species.

“I was, like, in shock pretty much,” Reegan Werner told the TwinCities Pioneer Press on Saturday. “My biggest fish before that was a salmon.”

Werner, who is from Farmington, Minn., was fishing May 31 near Marco Island off Florida with her brother, mother, and stepfather.

Werner’s brother, Owen, hooked a hammerhead shark before the enormous grouper devoured Werner’s bait. Her catch, after a fierce but short battle of 15 minutes, became the highlight of the family excursion.

“These things have amazing power,” Paul Hartman, Werner’s stepfather, told the Pioneer Press. “A 115-pound girl catching a fish like that is beyond explanation just with the laws of physics.”

Goliath grouper have been protected off Florida since 1990, so the estimated weight was obtained using a time-tested measurement formula. The fish, which measured 83 inches with a 75-inch girth, was released immediately after the measurement process and a quick photo.

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According to the International Game Fish Assn., the heaviest goliath grouper caught by a woman weighed 366 pounds. That fish, caught by Betsy Walker off Panama in 1965, is the women’s world record for 80-pound-test line.

The overall world record is a 680-pound goliath grouper caught by Lynn Joyner off Fernandina Beach, Fla., in 1961. Joyner’s fish also holds the men’s record for 80-pound-test line.

Thanks to the longstanding harvesting ban, the population is growing and larger fish are again being encountered by scuba divers and catch-and-release anglers.

According to Hartman, who fishes often in the Gulf of Mexico, the grouper caught by Werner has been caught before and is nicknamed “My Lord.”

He explained that it’s because “each time it showed up, all anyone could say is, ‘My Lord, look at that!’ ”

–Image showing Reegan Werner and the giant goliath grouper is courtesy of Paul Hartman