Bull Reds

[islander727 0]

I can't imagine what a red that size would feel like!

[Peterjay 0]

I looked up the world record ... currently stands at 83 lbs.

 

The IGFA world record is 94 pounds.

 

Try as I might, I absolutely cannot resist this one: not doubting you Mike....but where'd you get this statistic? I can't find reference to this number.

 

Ball-busting opportunities are apt to pop up any time, any place. Failing to seize the moment can result in severe psychological damage later in life, and I've already got enough to deal with.

[agn54 0]

As PJ stated, the record is 94 lbs 2 oz. Mike, you may have been looking up a line class record, or perhaps the Florida state record? There have been several recorded instances of 90+ pounders being caught up in that area.

 

https://www.sportfishingmag.com/largest-redfish-in-the-world-igfa#page-10

[mikechell 0]

 

I looked up the world record ... currently stands at 83 lbs.

 

 

Try as I might, I absolutely cannot resist this one: not doubting you Mike....but where'd you get this statistic? I can't find reference to this number.

 

I swear, when I typed in "World record Red Drum" ... that's the number that popped up on the first selection. But, of course, I shoulda looked further.

Going back and typing the same thing, and 83 doesn't come up at all.

 

Thanks for the correction.

[Peterjay 0]

Mike, it was caught in 1983 - that's probably why the numbers crisscrossed in your mind. The same thing happened to me once when I introduced my wife to the Virgin of the Governor Islands.

[Saltybum 0]

Your wife was 37 but you said she was 73? Something like that?

[JC Hoppaire 0]

Recent posting from: "This Is Fly Daily"

 

53-Pound Red Drum Caught From Kayak On Fly

 

 

The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) is currently reviewing the world record application for a red drum caught by Rob Choi while fly fishing on a 20-pound tippet. This catch, if approved, will far surpass the existing world record of 41 pounds.

 

Full article here: http://www.thisisflydaily.com/archives/9937

 

All IGFA Red Drum records here: http://wrec.igfa.org/WRecordsList.aspx?lc=Species&cn=Drum,%20red

[Peterjay 0]

JC, that is something I thought I'd never see because of the regulations. I don't how how he managed to get the fish weighed, but apparently, he did. I believe he caught the fish near where I live on the Eastern shore. The big reds are in the shallows right now, but the water is warming fast, and they'll be heading out to deeper water soon. A friend of mine who holds the 16-pound tippet class record for snook brought the fish in in a live well, then turned it loose after being weighed, but it was half the size of that red. I'd love to know how he did it out of a kayak.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

If I were to guess... I'd figure he did it the way Kenny Bittner did years ago with monster goliath grouper (well over 300lbs) taken on very, very light gear.... He'd tow one slowly to the marina where there was a certified scale and weighmaster, weigh it out of the water - then release it immediately -and we always suspected he'd give it a treat (something live and around five pounds) before sending it on its way until the following year... It all came to an end when one year he towed a big one to the marina at Flamingo and the weighmaster wasn't there - so he had to kill the fish to weigh it... All of that was long before the goliath grouper (called jewfish years ago before the pointy heads up north got offended.... and re-named it without asking anyone that fished for them for any input at all....) came under both state and federal protection where they still are today. Lots and lots of them around now after thirty years of protection - here's a photo of a young one between 20 and 40lbs one of my anglers released a week or two ago... They're just about the baddest fish in the 'Glades - and will take a fly like they were starved up in less than two feet of water (the same places that redfish like along mangrove shorelines)

 

Wouldn't be hard to tow a big red next to his 'yak until he either reached shallow enough waters to stand for a certified weight - or even to a nearby shoreline with someone was waiting for him with the appropriate gear... Don't know about current regs - but the IGFA used to certify scales if you sent them in so that they could be used for just this purpose....

 

Don't believe Kenny is still around now - but he was a member of the old Tropical Anglers Club in Miami when I was there (late seventies, early eighties back when chasing records was a hot deal down here....). Many, many world records set by members of that club -and more than one fishing guide, including me... came from there.