Michaelin’s hogfish likely would have bettered that world-record fish if he hadn’t gutted and cleaned it, but it would not have received a world-record distinction because it was not caught on hook and line. The IGFA all-tackle record hogfish is 21-pounds, 15-ounces. Michaelin’s fish weighed considerably more than 21.7 pounds when he shot it, but he had gutted the fish, and put it on ice so he could continue to spear fish.įlorida marine records allow for speargun shot non-gamefish species, such as hogfish, which are rarely caught on hook and line. Read Next: Bizarre Spanish Hogfish Catch Off the Coast of North Carolina Is a World Record They are the largest fish in the genus, growing up to 3.6 meters and weighing up to 400 kilograms. A spearfisherman diving three miles off Jupiter, Florida, was attempting to remove an amberjack from his spear when he noticed a goliath grouper approaching him with an eye toward a free meal. We got all the documentation and are submitting for the new record.” The Giant Groupers Epinephelus lanceolatus also known as the Goliath Grouper, Brindlebass, Brown spotted cod and Queensland Grouper is a member of the Epinephelus genus. The Florida record was 19.8 pounds it was much bigger. “So we wanted to get an official weight on a certified scale and took it to Don’s Dock on John’s Pass, and it was 21.7 pounds. “The hogfish was so big on our scale we thought the scale might have been off,” Michaelin said. Wednesday morning at the marina dock they put the heavy hogfish on the scale. They continued spear fishing into the night, filling their coolers with grouper, snapper, and other species before heading home.ĭuring the run back to port Michaelin kept thinking about the big hogfish he had shot, and what it might weigh. The other divers also had shot nice hogfish, but none the size of Michaelin’s. The fish are not native to the South Carolina county they were found in, preferring. Michaelin placed the dead hogfish on a stringer and swam toward the surface where his dive partners Wil McCraney, Dave Butts, and Fred Grunden helped him aboard the boat and admired the size of the hogfish. The average Goliath Grouper weighs about 800 pounds and measures over eight feet in length, according to WJLC. It was a big male, I thought about 18 pounds,” he said. That’s when he took the easiest shot of his life, and shot the fish through its gills. The giant hogfish was curious and swam right up to the tip of Michaelin’s speargun. Right when I started to call it, I saw a big hog come to the left of me,” Michaelin told the Bradenton Herald. I had 1,000 PSI left and started swimming away from the big structure to some smaller stuff. “Getting close to the end of the second dive I said there’s no way I’m coming up without something to shoot. He hadn’t seen much that day, and was about to give up when he saw the bright colors of a hogfish. 28, 2021 in 120 feet of water, 100 miles off Florida’s Gulf Coast. Veteran Florida diver James Michaelin was spear fishing for prized hogfish on Sept. They are one of the best tasting fish that swim. Hogfish are also known as the "Captain's Fish" since charter boat captains rarely give them up. James Michaelin's hogfish weighed more than 20 pounds.
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