Adlee Bruner of Bruce, Florida caught a Mako shark that tipped the scales at 844 pounds, setting a new record for the tourney.
Bruner was fishing aboard the 52 foot "Twighlight," a Destin charter boat with captain Robert Hill and mate Eric Hayles aboard. Bruner told the Northwest Florida Daily News they saw the fish hitting some grouper in the water near their boat, the captain rigged up line, they tossed it out, the Mako hit, and Vruner fought it, standing up, for over 30 minutes. Bruner credits mate Eric Hayles for having the courage to gaff the still active shark, after which they said, the shark went crazy, but after another hour of fighting, gave up. The 11 foot Mako was too big to fit in the back of the boat, they had to hook up a line and tow it back in.
“It was tense,” Bruner, 47, tells Northwest Florida Daily News while describing the hour-long battle with the shark. “I’ve fished for 40 years. I’ve never see one that big.” The photograph was taken by William Hatfield of Northwest Florida Daily News. His paper has a tight shot of the shark's sharp teeth. Update at 4:55 p.m. ET: As a commenter points out, William Hatfield is editor of The Destin Log, a sister paper of the Daily News.
. . . . . . . Back To Top . . . . . . .
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the Pine Island Sound on the morning of August 24 a Redfish with 606 spots was caught on cut bait under the mangroves. The fish weighed 6.25 pounds and was just over 26” long with a 14” girth. There were 302 spots on the left side, and 304 spots on the right side for a total of 606 spots. Steve Johnson was fishing with a 7’8” G-Loomis rod with a Quantum PT 40 reel and 20 lb. Power Pro line.
“We were thinking it was a big trout when it was getting close to the boat. After the catch we really didn’t know what we had. We called a friend and started looking up info on the internet. He said the most spots he found was 500 on a fish in the glades. No photos found. We took a large number of photos and counted the spots by the photos. Came up to 606 total number of spots. Unreal. We also got a DNA sample of the fish and it was sent to Mote Marine along with the photos. The fish was released unharmed after all the photos.”
Steve Johnson is half of “Team Johnson & Simon”, fishing out of Ft. Myers, Fl. Mr. Johnson and his partner Mr. Glenn Simon fish the IFA and FLW redfish tours. On August 18th they won the Englewood tournament with a weight of 12.65 pounds for two fish. For their efforts and skill they won a Ranger Banshee boat. “I have two great sponsors Power Pole and Berkley Gulp (Pure Fishing).”
“The fishing as you know is great in the Pine Island/Charlotte Harbor area. Fishing here is for everyone, especially for the kids.”
You can see more photos at www.redfishtour.com, or contact us here at www.fishingwithboogers.com to speak with Steve by phone.
As you may have figured out by now, Pine Island Sound is part of our stomping ground, and Mr. Johnson makes us proud of the fishing community in the area.
. . . . . . . Back To Top . . . . . . .
This extremely rare and beautiful "pink dolphin" was spotted and photographed by Capt. Erik Rue of Calcasieu Charter Service on June 24th, 2007 during a charter fishing trip on Calcasieu Lake south of Lake Charles, LA.
It appears to be an uncanny freak of nature, an albino dolphin, with reddish eyes and glossy pink skin. It is small in comparison to the others it is traveling with and appears to be a youngster traveling with mama. After spotting the beautiful mammal cruising with a pod of four other dolphins, Rue and his guests Randy and Peyton Smith and Greg and Sam Elias of Monroe, LA idled nearby while watching and photographing the unusual sight for more than an hour.
Our expectations are high that we will see this amazing mammal again as it was in an area frequented by the gentle mammals and one confirmed report has it being spotted at least a month earlier in a nearby location. If it does turn up again, it will be a welcome surprise to our guests.
. . . . . . . Back To Top . . . . . . .
November 13, 2007
THIBODAUX , La. --A medical student who blindfolds his friends to keep his favorite offshore fishing spot secret has come up with a record-beating fish -- a warsaw grouper weighing 359.1 pounds.
The giant hauled in by J.J. Tabor of Thibodaux is 12 ounces above the previous Louisiana state record, a state biologist confirmed.
It's been cut down to fillets. The first fillet weighed 53 pounds, Tabor said.
He caught it near an oil rig 70 miles south of Fourchon, in 400 feet of water. He won't give a more specific description.
'It's J.J.'s secret,' said Joey Rodrigue, a friend from Baton Rouge who joined Tabor and Tabor's father, John, on the record-making trip Saturday. 'I don't even know where I was. He blindfolds us on the way out.'
Tabor said he thought at first that his hook with a live hardtail on it had it the bottom 'until I felt the big head shake.'
Rodrigue steered away from the rig.
'I put myself in a harness and just had to lay back and fight,' J.J. Tabor said. 'It was about a 15 or 20 minute fight.'
Tabor cleaned the fish late Monday afternoon outside his father's auto repair shop in Thibodaux. 'We'll split it up,' he said. 'I'll make some phone calls and try to get rid of it fresh. The rest, we'll vacuum pack it and cook it later.'
Tabor says he believes the fish is about 33 years old. He plans to send an inner-ear bone called the otolith to a university in Florida where researchers can help determine the age of the fish. He hopes to get the results in about four weeks.
The world record, caught off Florida in 1985, is 436 pounds, 12 ounces.
This is a darn interesting story, even if you aren't into fishing. Please show it to anyone you know that likes to fish.
This Sturgeon is Still alive, just worn out from the fight. They turned him loose after the photo.
This Sturgeon was caught on the Willamette River just below Oregon City two weeks ago. It weighed out at over 1,000 lbs and measured out at 11'1'. It was 56'' around the girth and took over 6 and a half hours, and 4 dozen beers, for the 4 guys taking turns at the reeling it in. Any Sturgeon OVER about five feet has to be released unharmed and cannot be removed from the water.They are brood / breeding stock and probably older than most of us.
. . . . . . . Back To Top . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . Back To Top . . . . . . .
Anna Maria Fishing Pier Feb 9th - 10th 2008
02/14/08 8:16 PM
Fin-addicts
This fish was caught Saturday Feb. 10th 2008 at approximately 12:40 am. This is the first documented Sawfish in Tampa Bay in history. It was a mature male, estimated to be approximately 12 years old. It was caught by Wayne Slusser and Keith "Bulldog" Thomas on spinning equipment using cut Spanish Mackeral as bait from the Anna Maria City Pier. It measured 10 feet in length, 40 Inches in girth, estimated to weigh 228 Lbs. Some one had cut off the saw recently, the wound was still evident on the snout.
If you guys could please post this catch on your message boards, websites, or other media outlets I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for all that you do with and for anglers in Florida.
Mote Marine Research Lab has been notified of this catch and has documented it in their records as of 2/11/2008. They were extremely excited to have this species in Tampa Bay.
As he was reeling it in, a 56" Pike tried to eat it!!!!!
He brought them both in on the same net.
Awesome catch on a river in Canada - 55lbs - 56 inches.
. . . . . . . Back To Top . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . Back To Top . . . . . . .
FLOATING GAZEBO
I was going to build the Gazebo on the edge of my dock down
by the lake but I thought .....
I might just as well build the deck with floats on it
and I can then take it out fishing too. Has 15,000# capacity.
The deck is 18ft x 18ft with 12 plastic foam filled dock floats
that are 4ft x 4ft by 18 inch. high.and the Gazebo
is 10 ft. Hexagon with a table and chairs inside.
Under the table is my trolling motor so I can take it out to
my favorite fishing hole.
The trolling motor is remote controled wireless so I
can be fishing outside and operate the motor.
On the top of the table I have a LOWRANCE Fish-Finder with depth
sounding sonars and temp gauge.
I have 2 electric winchs with 40# anchors. I have also built in a
water pump so I can clean the fish right on the spot.
Now I can relax and fish while my wife can sit and relax.
