Caught a slab.

Hey guys long time no see! Caught the biggest fish of my life today so I thought I would drop back in and share it with old friends.

This is a approx 500lb Goliath Grouper caught in 40 ft of water down in Sarasota Florida. I am down here on my yearly trip to fish with my dad. Was caught on 30lb braid, spooled on a Penn reel with an ugly stick rod. Using a small live bait. (leather-jack) We were trying to catch them on a much bigger rod but ended up landing him on this one after about a 2 hour fight just slow and steady. A miracle fish really I am still in shock to land one on that rod.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24...s/IMG_0595.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24...s/IMG_0606.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24...s/IMG_0598.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24...s/IMG_0616.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24...IMG_0617-1.jpg

And here is the fish near the rod.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24...s/IMG_0633.jpg

And just because those that know me, know I post too many pictures... :p

here is a little bonus pic of a big king mackerel.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24...s/IMG_0466.jpg

Miss you guys! When is the next gathering?

~Fishin' Magician~

Thanks for posting them Markham.. that is a notch in your belt that is gonna be hard to match. Congrats again on the catch. It's an awesome fish. Gonna leave the thread here for a day or so, then move it to the louisiana off topic board.

wow, what a hoss!!

doc :)

I almost caught one like that on Darbonne bayou

Markham:

If anyone was gonna catch a whopper like that it just had to be you. That's sure a couple of nice ones. Look like you still have the "touch". Now go do it again.

Wow, Markham! What's the record on those things? Also, has the oil spill affected your guiding business at Venice?

How many bags of fillets did you get out of him?

You will need a chainsaw to fillet that monster! Thanks for the pics.

Now that's a FEESH!:eek: I caught a crappie like that once.:rolleyes: J/K:D Great catch. Congrats.:)

Impressive.................

"Caught a slab." What an understatement! Awesome fish Markham, glad to see your still alive and kickin!:)

That should be a record on that tackle have you checked

Man now that is a HAWG! Congrats Markham! Great to see you haven't forgot your crappie breathern! For those asking about fillets, you can't take these fish out of the water much less keep them. That is why you always see Markham jump in the water with them for the pictures, of course those of us that know Markham, know he will jump in the water with just about anything! Thanks for the pics Markham!:D

Markham, how come when you took me fishing at Larto you didn't put me on fish like that, and if I remember correctly it sure wasn't warm enough to swim with them "whole fryers" some of us caught. LOL

Hope all is well my friend. Looks like you're having the time of your life. Thanks for the great pictures.
"gene"

awesome...you should hook him under the fin and throw him out under a cork and see what ya catch next.

dude that is sick!