Tag: white seabass

Giant white seabass could break 67-year-old world record

An angler fishing recently in Baja California Sur, Mexico, caught an 88-pound white seabass that could break a 67-year-old world record.

An angler fishing recently in Baja California Sur, Mexico, caught an 88-pound white seabass that could break a 67-year-old world record.

Ricardo Reyes Martinez landed the giant seabass on April 30, but the International Game Fish Assn. announced the catch this week as a potential record breaker in two categories.

“This just in! Ricardo Reyes Martinez recently caught this incredible 39.9-kilogram (88-pound) white seabass to potentially set the new IGFA All-Tackle and Men’s 30-lb Line Class World Records,” the IGFA wrote on Facebook.

The current all-tackle world record stands at 83 pounds, 12 ounces. That fish was caught by Lyal Baumgardner off San Felipe, Mexico, in 1953. Baumgardner also set the record for 30-pound-test line.

RELATED: Angler’s giant flathead catfish could shatter record

Reyes, 36, was surf casting for snapper on the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula, southwest of La Paz, when the seabass struck.

Gary Graham, author of the Baja Bytes column, quoted Reyes as saying, “I did not expect to win a world record. I did not even plan to send the information, but when I saw the fish was a good size, I decided to send in the official documentation.”

The IGFA, which requires a certified weight, line sample, a photo and witness statement, typically takes weeks or months before making a record determination.

White seabass, members of the croaker family, are found from Magdalena Bay in Baja California Sur to Juneau, Alaska. They’re highly prized by anglers and considered delectable as table fare.

–Image showing Ricardo Reyes Martinez with his potential-record white seabass is courtesy of the IGFA 

Giant white seabass is heaviest ever landed on kayak

A Southern California kayak fisherman caught his first-ever white seabass last Saturday and it turned out to be one of the largest ever landed.

A Southern California kayak fisherman caught his first-ever white seabass last Saturday and it turned out to be one of the largest ever landed.

Brian Beam, who was fishing with James Loud off Dana Point, tethered and boated the 80-pound seabass after a 45-minute fight off Dana Point.

Beam, 37, could not find a certified scale because of business closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, so he took the fish home and weighed it twice on his bathroom scale: 81 and 79 pounds, so he split the difference.

Western Outdoor News describes Beam’s catch as a kayak-fishing world record, besting a 75-pound white seabass caught by kayak-fishing pioneer Dennis Spike in 2000.

Perhaps more noteworthy, it’s less than four pounds shy of the all-tackle world record (83 pounds, 12 ounces), which has stood since 1953. If Beam could have found a scale while the fish was still fresh, it could have been much closer to the overall world record.

ALSO ON FTW OUTDOORS: Paddleboarder surrounded by orcas, reacts accordingly

“I’d never even seen one over three pounds before,“ Beam told For The Win Outdoors. “You can only imagine how I felt once I realized what it was.”

Beam and Loud had paddled for 30 minutes to green water beyond a red tide, and Beam hooked the 5-foot-long seabass after his first cast of a live sardine. It towed him a half-mile south before he reeled it into view.

“My initial reaction was slight panic,” Beam said. “The fish was sideways, which made it appear twice as big in the water. It looked bigger than my kayak and I still had no idea what it was, which added to the excitement.”

Beam added that a rush of adrenaline helped with the task of hoisting such a heavy fish onto his kayak, after tethering it with rope.

The angler has reached out to the International Game Fish Assn. in an attempt to get the weight of the fish certified, but said the excitement generated by his catch is more rewarding than a potential record.

In a Facebook post Wednesday he wrote, “It’s been incredible hearing stories of how this accomplishment helped reunite family and friends and even created a little excitement in the mist of a global pandemic when finding things to get excited hasn’t been that easy.

“It’s truly a remarkable accomplishment and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to achieve and share it.”

–Photos courtesy of James Loud