BajaNomad

whoa, check out this amberjack!

willardguy - 5-22-2013 at 03:33 PM

from a tailhunter boat. story at pete thomas outdoors.

woody with a view - 5-22-2013 at 03:45 PM

fish of a liftime.

Frank - 5-22-2013 at 03:49 PM

Monster AJ. He had to of been pinned to the rail.

willardguy - 5-22-2013 at 03:50 PM

Could enormous Baja amberjack have been a world record?
The powerful amberjack was so massive it might have been a world record.

But the fisherman who battled the monstrous fish, and the Mexican crew that helped deliver it from the Sea of Cortez to a remote Baja California beach, were not thinking about records.

They marveled at the size of the fish and hefted their great prize as if to see if it could, indeed, be hefted—then carved it up for fish tacos and fillets for the grill.

(Note: This is a reprint from a Pete Thomas story on GrindTv Outdoor.)

The International Game Fish Association lists a 156-pound amberjack caught off Japan in 2010 as the all-tackle world record. The fish caught last week by Kevin Shiotani was conservatively estimated to weigh at least 135 pounds.

As anyone who has done a lot of weight-guessing knows, however, estimates can be wildly inaccurate.

Regardless of a possible record lost, Shiotani's amberjack is one of the largest ever caught, although it's likely that larger specimens have been hooked and lost in the rocks.

The catch was made after a 25-minute struggle near Cerralvo Island, the southern-most island in the Sea of Cortez. Shiotani is a regular customer of Tailhunter International Sportfishing, a La Paz-based charter business that trucks clients to a remote beach to fish Cerralvo and offshore waters out of pangas, or large skiffs.

Jonathan Roldan, who owns Tailhunter International and Tailhunter Restaurant, explained the catch to Phil Friedman Outdoors Radio.

"Kevin fought the fish for 25 minutes to a half-hour and got it to the boat and, of course, blew everyone away," he said. "They stuck a gaff in it, got it back to the beach, and started taking pictures. It's a magnificent fish."



Roldan said there was no scale on the beach and that he was not present when the fish was brought ashore. Had he been, he would have been sure to get the behemoth weighed on a certified scale.

He said that because amberjacks are so powerful and always lurk near structure, the larger fish are incredibly difficult to land.

"The largest we've put on a scale is 110 pounds, and 60- to 70-pounders have taken an hour or two hours to put on the boat, so this is just a fish that [Shiotani] happened to turn and put the wood to it, and got it back out of the rocks and got it to the boat.

"Like [with] a lot of world records, there was a lot of good luck and good angling."

There is one world record out of La Paz that seems as though it might last forever: a 114-pound roosterfish, a cousin of the amberjack, that was caught in 1960.

marv sherrill - 5-23-2013 at 12:16 PM

I thought that amberjack wasn't that good to eat - I always just let them go - super red, bloody meat - how does one make them good to eat (trade it for a chicken...?)

55steve - 5-23-2013 at 12:31 PM

Amberjack is great eating - a cut above yellowtail IMO.
Quote:
Originally posted by marv sherrill
I thought that amberjack wasn't that good to eat - I always just let them go - super red, bloody meat - how does one make them good to eat (trade it for a chicken...?)


[Edited on 5-23-2013 by 55steve]

chuckie - 5-23-2013 at 12:38 PM

Better than YT, by a bunch...We love it...

mulegemichael - 5-23-2013 at 01:16 PM

that is one arm-yankin' motha!

baitcast - 5-23-2013 at 01:55 PM

Been looking at that thing for a couple days:O just can,t imagine hanging on to that thing for any length of time,a big jack that size has got to be a nightmare but fun:lol:
Rob

55steve - 5-23-2013 at 02:00 PM

There's a fairly rowdy bunch of them that hangs out at banco Cleofas near Vallarta. If the tuna are playing hard to get we just drop a bait down on the high spot and hang on - we caught good ones but never anything as big as the monster in the pic.

[Edited on 5-23-2013 by 55steve]

msteve1014 - 5-23-2013 at 03:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by baitcast
Been looking at that thing for a couple days:O just can,t imagine hanging on to that thing for any length of time,a big jack that size has got to be a nightmare but fun:lol:
Rob


Most of the time the nightmare, or fun, only lasts for a minute or two. How many times do you think that thing has been hooked in it's life, and never seen the boat? Great catch.

DaliDali - 5-23-2013 at 03:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by marv sherrill
I thought that amberjack wasn't that good to eat - I always just let them go - super red, bloody meat - how does one make them good to eat (trade it for a chicken...?)


All Amberjack meat I have ever seen is a creamy white.

Dark red meat is seen on jack crevalle

marv sherrill - 5-23-2013 at 04:09 PM

Damn - I caught a 35 pounder from shore on a light rod with 12 test - over an hour to land - just let it go - next time tacos!

Ateo - 5-23-2013 at 07:14 PM

Holy freeking enormous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like a black sea bass I caught off of Blacks Beach in SD.

Had to turn it back into the dark depths.

Kgryfon - 5-24-2013 at 10:14 PM

Wow!