So far, this summer has been a pretty good for anglers catching big fish. Here are a few monsters we’ve heard about over the last couple months.
Mississippi Record Swordfish
The Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic produces awesome fish every year, and this year’s heaviest blue marlin weighed 793 pounds to earn “It Just Takes Time” first place and $400,000.
But a lot of the leaderboard buzz on June 13 was about a swordfish that’s a pending Mississippi state record. It took “Tails Up” owner/angler Donnie Jackson Jr. five hours battling stand-up to land the hefty 309.9-pound broadbill. It’s the largest Mississippi swordfish anyone has caught since 2017, when the current 243-pound record was set.
Tournament payout for the 33 Contender out of Venice, La. was $33,923. If Jackson’s swordfish is certified as a new record by the state, it will earn an additional $250,000.
World Cup Blue Marlin
Out of the Cape Verde Islands off the northwest coast of Africa, Capt. Manuel Viana led his team to victory in the Blue Marlin World Cup on July 4. On the 43-foot Riviera “Blue Hunter,” the team put a gaff in a grander blue marlin that weighed 1,046.1 pounds.
Manuel Rodrigues of Tavira, Portugal, was on the rod during a battle that saw the team leader the fish two dozen times before it was finally subdued. The fish measured almost 12 feet long with a more than 6 foot girth. It earned “Blue Hunter” $492,000 in the winner-take-all tournament.
Fishing from the beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, surf fishing guide Wesley Brough landed a 51-pound, 3-ounce Pacific white snook on June 28. It’s expected to be a new IGFA all-tackle world record. The previous record of 47 pounds, 8 ounces has stood for two decades. It was also caught in Cabo, back in 2001.
Seeking big roosterfish, jacks and snook, anglers gear up to fish the surf in Cabo. Brough’s snook ate an 8.5-inch 3D Savage Gear Mack Stick out of a school of frenzied mullet. He was throwing it with heavy spinning gear, 100-pound braid and a 125-pound mono leader.