BoldWater TV News
Port Canaveral, 11/14/06
A new record for Gag Grouper has been set at Port
Canveral, Florida.
Adrian Martinez of Satellite Beach, pulled up a 54.3 pounder while bottom fishing in about 90 feet. He was using butterflied pin fish for bait and landed the gag using one of his own custom-made Handler rods.
The gag came in at the end of the day after Martinez and fellow anglers Ryan Mick and Mark Earl pulled in a 40-pound wahoo and two red snappers at 17 and 26 pounds.
During the weigh-in at Sunrise Marina, Martinez told Boldwater TV, "We didnt't catch a whole lot, but the ones we did were good quality." Referring to the port record-setting-gag, "You fish forever trying to catch one of these."
It's no coincidence that Martinez caught the gag with one of his own designed-and-built Handler custom rods.
"It's the only brand we have in the boat," Martinez boasted. Martinez' gag beat the old Port record by 7.3 pounds.
Trivia...
Martinez grouper is almost 17 pounds short of the
Florida record caught in Destin in 1991. Gulf gags are typically larger than those caught in the Atlantic.
Other common names for a gags are black belly grouper and grey grouper.
Posted on November 16, 2006 at 01:58:33 PM
Doctor catches/releases 385 lb. IGFA world record
New IGFA world record; 385 lb shark on 16 lb tippet is now heaviest fish caught on fly
DANIA BEACH, Fla., U.S.A. -- (May 17, 2006) -- The catch-and-release of a 385 lb lemon shark on fly has officially been approved as a world record by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA).
It also becomes the heaviest documented fish caught on fly tippet.
IGFA world records coordinator Rebecca Reynolds made the official announcement that Dr. Martin Arostegui, Coral Gables, Florida, USA had caught the heaviest fish ever documented on fly beating out a nearly 40 year old record.
A little background on Arostegui; last year the retired Miami-area physician received a lifetime achievement award from the IGFA for over 100 world record catches through 2004 and this past March took home a grand slam of honors at the IGFA World Record Achievement Awards ceremony for the most world records in 2005 in saltwater, freshwater and on fly.
None of his other catches has ever been this heavy on any tackle, said Arostegui.
Continuing his relentless pace for world records with extensive travel, planning, preparation and review of the IGFA World Record Games Fishes annual and continuously updated IGFA web site of world records, Arostegui’s original plans were to catch and release a tiger shark on 20 lb tippet to beat the current 11-year old record of 220 lbs.
Guided by Capt. Ralph Delph, Key West, Fla., and fishing near the Marquesas Keys west of Key West, Florida, Arostegui used the scent line of a filleted barracuda to entice sharks onto the flats.
Instead of a tiger, a lemon shark smelled the scent so Arostegui switched to another fly rod with 12 lb tippet and a bright orange seven-inch long feathered fly streamer in an attempt to break another record he held. Like the tiger shark the lemon shark is a member of the whaler shark (carcharhinidae) family and once hooked Arostegui battled the fish for over an hour.
As he muscled the fish next to the boat, Arostegui said the toothy shark attacked the hull of Delph’s 29 ft. Contender.
“When it opened its huge mouth, I said to myself this shark could eat half of me in one bite,” joked the diminutive former emergency room doctor who stands 5 ft. tall and weighs 125 lbs.
Next in a carefully orchestrated technique that Arostegui and Delph have used before, Delph gaffed the shark in the soft, fleshy part of its tail as Arostegui dropped the fly rod and lassoed the fish in front of the tail with a cleated rope.
After a breather they enlisted the help of another flats angler and guide fishing nearby. The four men were able to wrestle the shark, while controlling its dangerous head, through the transom door into a specially designed eight foot long, three foot deep aerated, hydraulic live well. After an hour long ride back to Key West the pair, with the help of Delph’s son Mike who is also a noted Keys guide, finished documenting the catch. For that Arostegui used a portable briefcase-sized ScaleMaster II from International Weighing Systems along with a special canvas sling to cradle the fish.
“Since I bought the scale in the Rolex/IGFA Offshore Championship tournament auction last year in Mexico, I’ve used it for documenting six other IGFA certified records, but nothing this heavy.” Minus the weight of the ropes and cradle the lemon shark weighed 385 lbs (174.63 kg).
The avid angler who has practiced catch and release on over 90% of his fish catches slid the shark into the water of a nearby basin and while resuscitating it -- himself in the water -- measured the shark for its girth (49”) and length (90”) plus took photos.
Later, as he looked at the photos of himself and Capt. Mike Delph standing in the water before releasing the giant fish which an hour before had been biting the boat, Arostegui chuckled and said, “I don’t recommend getting this close to a lemon shark, especially in his environment.”
At the IGFA headquarters after preliminary line testing and documentation review, Ms. Reynolds said the 12 lb tippet over tested at 13 lbs so Arostegui’s fish was entered in the 16 lb tippet line class.
The previous record for heaviest fish on fly has been on the IGFA record books since March 15, 1967 for a 356 lb 0 oz (161.48 kg) goliath grouper (jew fish) caught by Bart Froth in Islamorada, Fla., USA, on 12 lb tippet.
Arostegui also beat his own 257 lb 0 oz IGFA mark for a lemon shark that he recorded two years ago and also the heaviest shark on fly beating out a 353 lb. hammerhead shark caught two years ago, also in the waters near Key West, by Rick Gunion.
Founded in 1939 the International Game Fish Association is a not-for-profit organization committed to the conservation of game fish and promotion of responsible, ethical angling practices through science, education, rule making and record keeping.
IGFA members are located in over 125 countries and territories. The IGFA welcomes visitors to its 60,000-square-foot interactive Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum in Dania Beach, Florida. The phone number at the IGFA is 954-927-2628 and e-mail is HQ@IGFA.org. The web site is www.igfa.org.
Capt. Mike Delph, left, Key West, Fla., USA and Dr. Martin Arostegui, right, of Coral Gables, Fla., hold a 385-pound lemon shark before releasing it back in Florida Bay waters. The International Game Fish Association certified the catch as a world record, Tuesday, May 16, 2006 saying it is also the largest documented fish caught on fly tackle replacing a 356 lb. goliath grouper (jew fish) caught in 1967. Arostegui, a retired doctor who holds more than 100 IGFA world fishing records caught the huge, toothy shark in early March near the Marquesas Keys, west of Key West, Fla. He and Capt. Ralph Delph went through elaborate methods to keep the fish alive to be weighed on certified scales, documented and released alive.
(Photo provided by the IGFA via Johnson Communications, Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Posted on May 18, 2006 at 12:25:09 PM
South Florida anglers in seventh annual Rolex/IGFA
World championship of blue water fishing in Mexico, May 7-12
DANIA BEACH, Fla. --- South Florida is well represented with anglers including the defending Miami champions who will be among the 64 teams from 33 countries that have qualified to compete in the seventh annual Rolex/ International Game Fish Association (IGFA) Offshore Championship Tournament (OCT), May 7 - 12.
Making their trip to the world championship of blue water fishing as part of the defending team title holders are Miami husband and wife Ray and Charmaine Rosher who will be joining Illinois teammates Scott Segal, Libertyville and Tom Schramm of Roshelle. Past Rolex/IGFA OCT champions are invited perpetually and this years event will include four previous teams.
Ms. Joan Vernon, Key Biscayne, will be on the team representing the Presidential Caribbean Cup from their win in La Guaira, Venezuela.
Casey Sowers, West Palm Beach who was on the 2003 Rolex/IGFA championship team will be back with that team.
Doug MacDonald and Heather Rintoul, both of West Palm Beach and Richard Chester, Pompano Beach will be representing their Treasure Cay Billfish Tournament win in the Bahamas last year.
Rick Benitez and Mo Escobar of Miami, will be making the trip to the as winning team members of the Venezuelan International Super Slam 2005 team that won in La Guaira, Venezuela.
Rolf Taunton-Rigby, Ft. Lauderdale, will be part of a team representing their win at the Nantucket Anglers Club Billfish Tournament on Nantucket Island.
Joe Dowdell, Marathon and Ms. June Thacker, Marathon Shores, are the winning team members of the Sails and Tales tournament team that won in Zihautanejo, Mexico.
A trio of ladies will fish as a team in the championship. Lorraine Francis, Stuart; Betsy Bullard, Tavernier and Nora Schofield, Miami will represent their victory at the IWFA Annual Billfish Tournament held in Iztapa, Guatemala.
Representing their win at the Dusk to Dawn Swordfish Tournament in Ft. Lauderdale are Kenneth Taylor, Kyle Meyer, both of Ft. Lauderdale along with Kenny Josach of Plantation and Nate Goodwin of Davie.
The prestigious Rolex/IGFA OCT is a four-day catch-and-release tournament taking place in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It’s attracting many of the world’s best angling teams who have won at least one of 110 IGFA qualifying events held in 40 countries across the globe during 2005. They’ll be fishing the waters around the tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula for marlin and other big game fish.
It’s believed the Rolex/IGFA OCT attracts the largest number of international teams on five continents ever to compete in a single fishing tournament.
To date teams signed up are representing tournaments in the countries and territories of Angola, Australia, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, the Canary Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Galapagos, Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Kingdom of Tonga, Mauritius, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks and Caicos, the United States, Vanuatu and Venezuela.
Many other countries are represented with anglers coming from France, England, Ireland, Slovenia and South Africa. The United States is represented by 22 teams of anglers from over 22 states.
According to Lynda Wilson, the Rolex/IGFA offshore tournament coordinator, the abundance of billfish each year caught and released is an important factor in the large number of teams competing annually.
“Last year a record total of 517 billfish were caught and released among 70 teams. The year before 299 billfish were released among 66 teams,” she said. “In 2003, 250 billfish were released among 42 teams. Those are some excellent release figures and the anglers remember and get excited and the word spreads about the great fishing there in Cabo.”
The teams will draw for different boats each day from the local guided Cabo fleet. They will be fishing for three species of marlin (blue, black and striped) and swordfish for 300 points each along with sailfish and spearfish for 100 point values each. The catches will be scored and released alive at the boat in accordance with the IGFA tournament rules. The team releasing the most billfish over the four days will receive bonus points.
The teams will also receive points (per pound) for tuna, wahoo and dorado up to two fish of each species per day above the minimum size limit of 25 lbs. Local charities receive the donations of all fish weighed at the Cabo docks. All anglers will use 30 lb. Momoi fishing line.
The team with the most points at the end of the four days of competition will receive Rolex timepieces and trophies. Eighteen other prizes will be presented including ones to the three top male and female anglers, top three captains and top three places for the heaviest tuna, wahoo and dorado.
The offshore championship is one of two world-class series fishing events that include the sixth annual Rolex/IGFA Inshore Championship Tournament to be held July 9 -12, in the Florida Keys. In that tournament some 40 anglers representing 55 qualifying tournaments on four continents will be competing in light-tackle and fly-fishing competition for bonefish, tarpon, permit, redfish and snook in Islamorada, located in the middle of the Florida Keys.
Founded in 1939 the International Game Fish Association is a not for profit organization committed to the conservation of game fish and promotion of responsible, ethical angling practices through science, education, rule making and record keeping.
IGFA members are located in over 125 countries and territories. The IGFA welcomes visitors to its 60,000-square-foot interactive Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum in Dania Beach, Florida.
For further information, contact Rolex/IGFA tournament coordinator Lynda Wilson at the International Game Fish Association, 300 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach, Florida 33004 email: Lwilson@IGFA.org, or phone (954) 927-2628 Fax (954) 924-4299 or OCT. For team updates go to www.igfa.org and look under the Fishing heading for the Tournaments subheading.
Posted on May 03, 2006 at 08:43:35 AM
Madfin Shark Series on ESPN
Sharks were made to be feared, at the least respected. That just comes with the territory for a sleek, voracious predator with a mouth full of teeth.
For a group of salt-water anglers in Florida, though, they are the center of a new sport _ the Madfin Shark Series, a made-for-television fishing tournament set to air on ESPN2.
Scheduled to air April 9th, April 16th and April 23rd at 10 a,m. (EST), the Madfin Shark Series is a new look at shark angling with a completely different approach. Shark tournaments are nothing new. Most are catch-and-kill affairs with big cumbersome sharks at the center of the fray, putting up a monumental battle that ends with a club to the head.
The Madfin Shark Series captures that excitement but adds a twist. This one is a catch-and-release tournament, where anglers are not only judged by their skill at hooking up with a mountain of flesh and teeth, but also with their skill of bringing the fish to the side of the boat and plucking the hook from those teeth and letting it go to fight another day.
"When we came up with the idea for the Madfin Shark Series, we knew that these fish provide a lot of sport," said Tim Schick, producer of the event. "But we didn't want to go in and kill a lot of them just to show that we could. We also wanted to add some excitement to the catch and some drama to the release."
That's where the twist of the Madfin Shark Series comes in. That hook removal that is so easy for trout and bass anglers, but a completely different set of circumstances with a 200- or 300-pound shark bent on eating whatever is front of it.
"When you get a shark on the end of your line and close to you, he's angry," said Steve Rogers, a competitor in the event. "And when he's angry he wants to bite something, and that something is you."
While no angler in the Madfin Shark Series has been bitten, there were a few sides of boats and tail gaffs that were munched on during the tournament. The practice of removing the hook just added another factor, but it was the skill of the competitors that added the backbone of the tournament series.
It didn't boil down to hooking up and landing just one big fish. This event saw close to 100 sharks hooked and released, all of them measuring at least 5-feet in length, with some tripling that size.
The event was made up of 14 salt-water Captains, split into seven two-man teams and for the most part fishing out of light-tackle, inshore boats on shallow grass flats more suited for redfish anglers.
The shallow, clear water and big sharks provided a visual aspect to the event never seen before in shark events.
The tournament was based on a simple concept. Points were awarded for the first shark caught, the most sharks caught and the biggest shark. Within that point system, each species of shark had it's own set of points.
For instance: A Bull Shark was worth 10 points with a 5-point bonus for removing the hook; while a Lemon Shark was worth 5 points with a 3-point bonus; a Tiger Shark was worth 50 points and a 15-point bonus for hook removal. To make it more interesting, a Nurse Shark, one of the prevalent species in the Keys, was worth negative three points, but a team received three points for removing the hook. That insured if you were unfortunate to hook up with a Nurse Shark that you had to release it or suffer negative points.
The seven teams fished Day One under that format, with the last-place team getting bumped from the competition. On Day Two, the six remaining teams added to their scores, with the field cut to four teams for the final day.
On the final day, the scores were erased and it was a shootout, or should we bite out, to the finish.
I received a call Tuesday morning from Jim Turner, owner of Guatemala's newest gameboat the Release, a classic 37ft Merritt. He asked "what are you doing this weekend?" Having spoken minutes earlier to Capt. Ron Hamlin aboard the Captain Hook on his second day with over 50 releases, my response was quick "nothing, let’s go fishing."
Airline tickets were issued and away we went. I met Jim and his wife, Liz, at the American Airlines ticket counter at Miami International Airport, where we checked in our typical four suitcases full of tackle. We spent time talking about the incredible body of sailfish that had moved into Guatemala. Two and half-hours later, we were arriving at Guatemala City’s LaAurora International Airport being met by Antonio, for our 90 minute drive down to the coast.
Once in Iztapa, we checked in at the Quinta Pez Vela where Jonathan and Melusine, our hosts, met us with cocktails served by our very own bartender Julian. The anticipation of what was to come the next day kept us up all night swapping stories. Jim made the decision that night that we were going to fly fish for them.
The next morning Capt. Hamlin met us at the dock, by now it was his fifth day straight with over 50 releases, "Well boys do the best you can, it’s unbelievable out there". We boarded the Release and Capt. Chris Sheeder introduced me to his mates Nico and Ricardo.
Teaser baits were rigged and three Billy Pate Bluefin fly reels coupled with Cam Sigler 16 weight fly rods were ready for action. A selection of Cam Sigler flies, ballyhoo and belly strip teasers were rigged and ready. Forty-five minutes later, the engines throttled down to trolling speed, the left outrigger was lowered, and the bridge teaser started dancing in the waves. Not more than 10 minutes later, the madness had begun, "He's on the teaser" said Capt. Chris calmly, and like aWimbledon final match, Nico and Ricardo teased the first sailfish into position.
The Release team with a hefty Pacific Sail
Jim performed his first cast flawlessly, like he'd been casting buddy with Lefty Kreh for years. Minutes later Nico retrieved the fly and the teasers were back in position. "Teaser" said Capt. Chris again. I thought to myself, "there's no way, it has only been a couple of minutes." Again Jim's cast was right on the money and a few minutes later the sailfish swam away as fast as it had come into our spread. "Teaser", "He's on the Spinner", "Teaser", "Teaser" and sail after sail were released.
These weren't your typical sailfish, not the 30-40 pound fish I'm used to catching in South Florida. These were BIG! The average sail was 75-90 pounds. It was 9:45am, and we had just released our 18th sail!
No one dared mention "the record" word, but we all thought it - "Could we tie or even surpass the fly day record of 27 today?" At 11:30am the new Fly World Record was released, number 28! The radio was ablaze with the usual congratulations, good going, etc., but it wasn't even noon. Obviously, this was no ordinary day. This was one of those days you read about in the Lerner logs at IGFA or hear about from some old timer at your local tackle shop.
The baits were placed back in the water to see where the day would take us. It's now 2PM and number 40 had been safely released! Did I mention that 95 percent of the flies were retrieved! WOW What a day! My one gig camera chip was full, and we still had two more hours to fish. We were back at the dock at 4:45PM with the new Angler World Record of 54 releases, along with the new Boat Day Fly Record of 57 releases! I even sneaked in and released three sails of my own.
Congratulations to Jim, Liz, Capt. Chris, mates Nico and Ricardo. Great mates who made the magic happen. Thank you for sharing this incredible day with me.
Posted on March 20, 2006 at 01:30:10 PM
Giant Bonefish!
A Huge 14lb 8oz. bonefish was caught on Tuesday by angler Harvey Karen fishing in downtown Islamorada with Capt. Paul Tejera
Captain Jose Wejebe, the host of ESPN2’s number one fishing show, Spanish Fly, has launched a new website.
Known for his unique, signature “interactive fishing style” and his visually intriguing show with flamenco guitar soundtrack, Jose wanted his website to also reflect the same look, feel and experience.
BoldWater worked closely with Jose to build SpanishFlyTV.com and bring a behind-the-scenes perspective to the popular fishing show.
Posted on July 27, 2005 at 11:45:00 AM
ESPN’s Monster Shark Tournament in Oak Bluff, Mass
Team Pelagic’s Damon Sacco and the boys aboard the Casatafari weighed in an 1190-pound tiger shark!
It was by far, the biggest fish of the tournament, but… the fish was so big, the team missed the deadline for the final weigh in by 10 minutes!!!!
Here at Pelagic, we are so proud of Damon and his crew; they are clearly the winners in our hearts and minds… and certainly this was not the first big fish they’ve caught and surely not the last. We expect to see them in the winner’s circle soon!!
