The world record for a white seabass caught on rod and reel is 83.75 pounds. So when anglers see this, jaws are likely to drop and more concerted
efforts will probably be made to pursue these kings of croaker along our coast.
On consecutive trips, Bill Ernst, 58, a spearfisherman for 45 years, speared white seabass weighing 42, 47, and 68 pounds.
So a week ago, Ernst headed back to the the Deep Hole at the Los Angeles/Ventura county line where he shot the other big white seabass.
It was 8 a.m. Nobody else was around. He climbed onto his paddleboard with his spear gun and paddled to a kelp bed a half-mile out in 50 feet of
water. He tied the board to the kelp and started freediving.
On his second dive, he descended inside the kelp but near the edge. He saw two big white seabass facing away from him, just sitting there, apparently
asleep.
"The one in front, further away, he was huge," Ernst said. "He was bigger than the one I shot. It had to be 100 pounds."....
Not one to pursue records, Ernst was prompted to submit the fish to offer proof that enormous white seabass like this really do exist along the
coastline.
On a certified market scale, the fish weighed 93.1 pounds
The current International Underwater Spearfishing Association record for a speared white seabass is 80 pounds, so Ernst shattered the mark.
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