A Florida fisherman casting from a kayak got more than he bargained for at last week when he snagged a massive goliath grouper estimated to weigh more than 500 pounds – and easily snapped his fishing rod!

Veteran angler Jon Black, owner of Crazy Lure Bait and Tackle in Cape Coral, Fla., was recording a spot on kayak fishing for an online fishing show called “Chew on This” when he landed the leviathan from the teeny one-man kayak in Sanibel, Fla.

Despite the snapped rod, Black and charter fishing Capt. Ben Chancey were able to get the massive fish ashore and found its measurements were 83 inches long and 73 around, giving it an estimated weight of 552 pounds, according to news reports.

Records for fish caught from kayaks are spotty, but this one probably is. According to Grind TV, the all-tackle record for a goliath grouper is 680 pounds caught off Florida in 1960.

So Black really caught a Goliath of a goliath grouper.

“I thought he was going to kill me,” he said.

It didn’t. And Black didn’t kill the fish, either.

The species was declared protected in 1990.

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Joe Saunders

Joe Saunders, a 25-year newspaper veteran, is a staff writer and editor for BizPac Review who lives in Tallahassee and covers capital and Florida politics. Email Joe at [email protected].

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