It takes nerve to intentionally tangle with a fish weighing hundreds of pounds from a kayak. That’s just what Florida anglers Jon Black and and Ben Chancey set out to do on May 23.
Chancey was filming for his popular online TV show “Chew On This” when a goliath grouper picked up Black’s bait, a 5-pound Jack Crevalle on a circle hook. It began what turned out to be an epic battle from a 13-foot Old Town Predator MX kayak.
“I knew it was big, but I didn’t know it was that big!” Black told an Old Town representative. The fish turned out to be the largest known goliath grouper ever caught from a kayak.
Chancey is a charter captain as well as a TV host and guides people from all over the world to goliath grouper up to 700 pounds each year, so he has experience with the giant fish. But never before has he attempted to catch one from a kayak. Earlier the same day, Chancey had his own epic battle with an estimated 300- to 350-pounder, but he knew he had been bested when the anglers got their first look at Black’s fish.
“I still don’t know how we did it. We didn’t think it could be done,” Chancey said when asked how they kept the kayak upright while battling such enormous fish. “That’s a big reason we were wearing lifejackets, because we figured we would be going in.”
Black and Chancey were taking turns fishing and filming in about 23 feet of water at the bridge that connects Fort Myers and Sanibel Island, Fla. They were using an Apex T-Rx 50 Wide reel that pulls 150 pounds of drag and steel sailing cable for fishing line. Even geared up so heavily, Black’s rod broke during the battle, and you can watch him hollering about it on film, as cameras were rolling for the fight.
The fish was released unharmed and in accordance with conservation laws, so its weight is an estimate based on length and girth formulas on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation website. Black’s grouper was 83 inches long and 73 inches around.
Since going online, the video clip has gone viral and was picked up by NBC’s Today Show, which aired on May 27. The video has appeared on many other television shows and websites since it first aired.
“The attention this fish received is amazing, and it has generated a lot of interest in fishing from kayaks.” Chancey said.
For more on Predator kayaks, go to predatorkayak.com.
