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Big Catch
Posted on 4/26/11 at 4:03 pm
Posted on 4/26/11 at 4:03 pm
THIBODAUX , La. --A medical student who blindfolds his friends to keep his favorite offshore fishing spot a 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 Rodriguez, 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 hit the bottom 'until I felt the rod shake.' Rodriguez 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.
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 Rodriguez, 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 hit the bottom 'until I felt the rod shake.' Rodriguez 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.
Posted on 4/26/11 at 4:05 pm to COACH ROD
are you seriously going to post this w/o pics?
Posted on 4/26/11 at 4:07 pm to COACH ROD
quote:
The first fillet weighed 53 pounds
holy frick
Posted on 4/26/11 at 4:07 pm to COACH ROD
How old is this article? Pretty sure this is from 3 or 4 yrs. ago
Posted on 4/26/11 at 4:11 pm to COACH ROD
I'm borrowing an OT term......that's a German fish.
Posted on 4/26/11 at 4:11 pm to COACH ROD
this happened a long time ago
Posted on 4/26/11 at 4:16 pm to yellowfin
I've been getting this again lately in emails. Good fish but damned its old.
Posted on 4/26/11 at 4:38 pm to COACH ROD
old story, I believe he had caught the record, lost the record, then regained the record within a month or two.
Posted on 4/26/11 at 5:34 pm to COACH ROD
quote:
near an oil rig 70 miles south of Fourchon, in 400 Feet of water
'It was about a 15 or 20 minute fight.'
WTF?!?!?
This post was edited on 4/26/11 at 6:12 pm
Posted on 4/26/11 at 5:40 pm to yellowfin
I was referring to the length of the fight for a fish that big
This post was edited on 4/26/11 at 5:41 pm
Posted on 4/26/11 at 5:50 pm to MC123
got it, that is pretty quick
you had bolded the depth
you had bolded the depth
Posted on 4/26/11 at 6:13 pm to yellowfin
fixed. i would think that would be impossible at that depth w/o a winch
Posted on 4/26/11 at 7:56 pm to COACH ROD
I say BS on the blindfold crap. If you are fishing at a rig, all you would have to do is look at the rig and get the area and block number.
Posted on 4/26/11 at 8:26 pm to doublecutter
agree with the BS on the blindfolding unless he is fishing a "secret" reef or sunken platform/ship. The deal with these giant deepwater grouper is you get them up to a certain depth and the gases in them expand - pretty much turn the fish into a giant heavy arse ballon and floats to the surface. The first few minutes of the fight are pretty intense but once you get them up to a certain depth quick enough the battle is over. Not trying to minimize JJ's catch, just explain how you get a 300+lb grouper to the surface from 400 ft of water. Im not sure if he uses electric reels but i dont think he does - probably just cranking away on a 50w.
just to give you an idea about the exapansion of gas, check out the eyes on this one - imagine how hard it is for a fish to stay deep with a swim bladder filled to the brim with gas.
just to give you an idea about the exapansion of gas, check out the eyes on this one - imagine how hard it is for a fish to stay deep with a swim bladder filled to the brim with gas.
Posted on 4/27/11 at 7:58 am to Geaux2Hell
my guess is electric reels. I don't like em, but All bottom fisherman swear by those things.
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