Mar 13, 2016

Landed by: Arne Rovell of Escondido, California

I launched at around 4:45 am so I could make bait at Scripps Pier and then head back across the canyon. I picked up a handful of greenbacks at the pier and paddled back towards the point. Just before sun up I dropped a greenie down on a 3-way swivel with an 8 oz. torpedo and a 2/0 ringed gorilla hook on 40# mono. I didn’t have to wait long before my bait got hit hard. I let it run for a few seconds, set the hook, and I was on for a ride. The SE wind was up and the wind chop was already pretty hectic, so the sideways ride in the choppy slop made it even more fun. The fish made a couple sideways runs and then it was all up and down. I finally got the fish up about 25 minutes later and had a big and chunky YT on deck. I was thinking 30#-35# and was pretty ecstatic at this point. I distributed some bait to a couple other yakkers out there and sent one of my last two greenies out. I started paddling back to “the spot” when my bait took a massive hit. This fish hammered my bait and spun me around taking line at an amazing pace. I finally started getting some line back when the fish decided to head for one of the many lobster buoys out there. Luckily, it didn’t want to sit and circle around the buoy rope, so I was able to clear the rope and continue the sleigh ride. At this point I thought something was wrong with the drag setting on my Shimano TLD 15. Even with the drag buttoned down I couldn’t horse her in. My arms and back were tired from the first fish so I had to break a few times from the tug-of-war. About 20 minutes later I got her to color and was amazed at the size of the fish circling underneath me. With the one fish on my lap it made the gaff a little difficult, but both the fish and I were tired by this point so there wasn’t much of a fuss. I finally got her to gaff and threw her on top of the other fish that lay bleeding on deck. After securing her with my other fish I bled her as well and thought this one could be pushing forty+. With its head hanging over to my left, its tail was hanging in the water much like the 43#er I caught in January – so I was stoked and ready to paddle in.

I was all alone on the beach upon landing – no one to share my prize with and no one to take pictures. When I stuck the tape on the “smaller” one it measured 44 inches from nose to fork. I got pretty excited about then since the other was a tad bigger. I stuck the tape on her and I was shocked to see it top out at just over 52 inches – and fat, too, with a 27 inch girth.

I didn’t bother weighing them on my handheld – I went straight to the bait/tackle shop by my office for an official, certified weight. When I asked if their scale was up and running he said yes, and could I bring the fish into the shop in a bucket – a bucket I said?

The first one hit the scale at a whopping 39 lbs. 14 oz.

The second one floored me ….

arne@hedgeassist.com

Date: August 4, 2006
Landed by: Hal Kirman, Seal Beach California.

In Hal’s words…”It was our second day of kayak fishing the East Cape of Cabo. I was reflecting over our first day, catching dorado and the great yellowfin tuna my son (David) caught, when my rod bent in two and my kayak took off. From there, it was a forty minute battle of give and take. Mostly take which ultimately resulted in a 42# kayak record amberjack. (Landed) on 30# test, this fish was the thrill of a lifetime.”

Date – Saturday, May 17, 2008

Angler – Gareth Uyeda

Rod – Ugly Stik

Reel – Penn 9500ss

Main Line – 40# Power Pro Spectra

Leader – 90# American Fishing Wire Surflon

“My brother (Gareth) and I (Kevin) aka The Uyeda Brothers in Hawaii are tandem kayak fishermen. We call wahoo “ono” in Hawaii.

The day started with BEAUTIFUL conditions for paddling, but NO real strikes for about 4 hours. Then, when we least expected it…big strike! The battle was on. At first he swam straight down and held, then a blistering run! After a long battle, we saw it…it was a huge ono. Our personal best was 41.65 lbs caught only two months before this one. We took him to Haleiwa Fishing Supply to weigh him and he tipped the scales a 58.5 lbs.”

The Uyeda Brothers

Kevin & Gareth

42.6# Tombo-Hawaiian Albacore

Date: Landed December 17, 2008 by Matt Reed

“Been living in Hawaii since 1996. Fish was caught on rod and reel with 65# test line at ten in the morning off the Kona Coast of the Big Island. The fight lasted around 15 minutes.”

Date: July 30, 2008

Angler: Andy Cho

Location: Big Island, Hawaii

“Our friend Andy Cho caught this 74 lb beauty along with a bunch of other very impressive fish on his way to becoming the 2008 Aquahunters Makahiki Tournament Champion.” submitted by the Uyeda Brothers.

From Steve Cho, “My little Brother Andy hooked that Wahoo on July 30, 2008. He was very fortunate to land this fish because he got it on a small mono leader while targeting tuna. It sizzled 450yards of line on its initial run before succumbing to a well placed gaff. The reel he hooked it on, never worked again.”

Landed April 12, 2009 by Warren Reaves from Keauhou, Hawaii on a conventional reel w/ 50# Power Pro. The fish hit at 33 fathoms. Warren’s snapper was 5# off the Hawaii State record and beat the last kayak record by 7#.

120kg Bacota Shark
(we believe this is a Blacktip Reef Shark)

December 2012
Team Record
Mar Del Plata, Argentina

Expert fishermen Fabian Mateos, Leo Avalos and Fabian Castellan worked as a group to land this estimated 2.5 meter, 120 kg shark on the Argentina coast. “It was an event of extreme adrenaline, 40 minutes of emotion”. The shark was released in perfect condition.

Mar del Plata Argentina, fue en el mes de diciembre 2012,un grupo de expertos pescadores lograron esta captura de un bacota de mas de 2,5m y 120kg, Fabian Mateos,Leo Avalos y Fabian Castellan. Fue una jornada de Adrenalina extrema , 40minutos de emocion. El Bacota fue Liberado en perfectas condiciones.

Datos: Susana Andea Gomez

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Caught by: Justin Hanby from Jacksonville, FL
Caught in Saint Augustine, FL on 04-06-2013 at 11:00 am
Lure used was DOA C.A.L. Shad (4″ fiji chicken) on Strike King red 1/8 oz jig head
Kayak used was 2010 Hobie Outback
7’1″ Calico Jack medium action rod
Okuma Stratus 35 reel
30 lb FINS braid line

I was fishing in Saint Augustine, Fl with my father (Steve Hanby) and friend (Lee Pashley) on 04-06-2013. It was very windy and rough so we put in several miles North of our usual spots and fished with the wind pushing us. After catching several small trout and red drum, this large trout stopped my lure. It was dead weight for a minute so i was not sure if it was a fish or alligator. Once it reached the kayak I could see that it was a very large fish and assumed it was an oversized red drum. It made several long and hard runs before i attemted to land it. Once i brought it to the surface, I realized what I had and could not believe it! I have caught several trout around 10 lbs but had never seen one like this. As I was landing the trout, Lee hooked up with a 39 inch red drum. We took them both to shore for a few pictures before releasing his fish. We suspected that mine was close to an IGFA state all tackle record and a kayak record so I started the 2 hour paddle to the ramp. I did not have a cooler big enough for the fish so she lost a bit of weight before getting weighed at 15 lbs. 12 oz. on certified scales. without the tail pinched (florida law is to pinch it) she was 32 1/4 inches with a 21 inch girth.

In June of 2013, in Corigliano Calibro, Italy, Gianluka Zammuto caught a 44Kg (96.8 lbs) amberjack on his kayak.

Fishing with a rod and reel using a live cuttlefish for bait. Fish was weighed on a hanging spring type scale witnessed by 54+ people.

Name: Gianluca Zammuto
Date of Birth: 27 December, 1988 (25yo)
Hometown: Sellia Marina (CZ), Italy
Date of Catch: June 21, 2013
Location of Catch: Corigliano Calabro, Italy
Fish: Amberjack / 44.5Kg (97.9 lbs)
Rod: Shimano Tiagra Lite Trolling (12-20lbs)
Reel: Shimano Tyrnos (20 lbs)

Editor’s note: This weight is estimated and the landing was assisted.  A fish came to scale in Washington in 2016 reported at 124# and we are pursuing that listing.

Troy Button, Alaska-Pacific Halibut

On the evening of June 24th, 2014 some good friends Joe Larson, Josh Gilliland and I went fishing on Monashka Bay in Kodiak Alaska in our Scrambler XT Ocean Kayaks.

Angler account- “We started the evening off chasing black rock bass with very little success and decided it was time to go after some big halibut. We moved out to about 300 ft of water and dropped our rigs to the bottom, on about our third drift through the hole and five min after I hit bottom I got a nibble and then another and on the third hit I was able to set the hook and start the fight. The fish immediately started pulling my boat through the water at a pretty decent clip and then all of a sudden it went slack and I thought for sure the fish was gone. As I reeled in the slack to check my bait it dawned on me that the fish had only stopped and I had drifted past him and as I reeled my line taught he ran again and the fight was back on. This back and forth continued for another forty minutes before I saw the fish and started the real fight of getting him landed.

Once we had eyes on the fish and I was able to finally get him to arms length we had three failed gaff attempts but after some fancy knife work by big Joe we had the fish bleeding, I sunk the gaff under his chin and gave a number of good thumps with our fish bat and then waited. Finally thirty minuets later I was able to get a rope through his jaw, tie him off to the boat and the fish was mine.

With a little team work from my pals to carry him to the truck we got him home and measured him at 63in. and 127.8 lbs (estimated).”