A wow a fish weighing more than 100 pounds broke a more than decade-old record at the annual competition in the Destin, Floridathe organizers said.
The record for the largest catch — a variety of tropical and subtropical fish — was broken by a father and his two sons Saturday at the annual Destin Fishing Contest.
Rodeo organizers told Facebook message: “Wahoo rodeo record caught today. 101lbs from angler Derrick Dover on Muscle Memories! Congratulations guys! Big catch!”
The previous Wahoo record was set in 2010 by Omar Brace of Mary Esther, who NWF Daily News reported a 98.2lb waha caught aboard the Don’t Hate skippered by Scott Whitehurst.
Speaking to a local news outlet, Mr. Dover said he could not have predicted the 101-pound wahoo he caught Saturday about 30 miles southwest of Destin.
The man was fishing with his brother and Captain Andrew Dover along with their father aboard the Muscle Memories.
“We’ve been trying to get good perch but it’s been happening,” Mr Dover told the news site. “We were in the same area. … He took off and just kept going. I thought, “Oh, that’s a big one.”
Mr Dover said he thought the fish would get away but managed to reel in the 101lb beast, which he managed to see under the boat’s motor.
“He was deep under the motor,” said the fisherman. “He was huge. . . . After dad stuck a hoe in him, he was done.”
The family trio eventually managed to get the fish aboard their boat before bringing it back to shore for weigh-in in Destin, where the rodeo’s 74 additions took place.
The photos, which the organizers of the contest shared on social networks, show the size of the wahoo, which was longer than the height of Mr. Dover.
Wahoo wasn’t the only big catch at the rodeo after a grouper weighing more than 300 pounds was caught Sunday and it took five people to get the fish aboard the boat, according to social media reports.
However, it reportedly did not break the record.
