# Pending IGFA AJ Record/rig report



## FenderBender

I'm exhausted, but will attempt to spin the best story I can now.

A crew of myself, Mike (Mikvi), Nick Seanor (Stumpknocker), Andy Johnson from Geneva FL and Jacob Touart ran out deep to the SW Wednesday morning 3/31 in hopes of some possible deep dropping, jigging, and tuna chasing. 

We stopped at the first spot and tried deep dropping a bit (we are all deep drop virgins) and didn't manage much, only a white snapper. We quickly moved further south and began our plan of verticle jigging. Saw Team Fat Jax out there, and majaged a couple of decent AJs before Nick's fish of a lifetime hit his Williamson jig in about 200 ft. of water. He was fishing using spinning gear, 25 lb Momoi mono and a Penn 8500. I hooked up at the same time and jokingly said "I bet I can get my fish up quicker than you can." Initially, his fish didn't do much but eventually it started ripping drag and doing as he pleased, I honestly don't think it realized it was even hooked at the beginning of the fight. Well I got my smallish fish in the box and we realized we had something big on the end of his line. 45 minutes later it was still on, Nick was sweating like a pig, and the fish wouldn't budge from 60 ft. We had drifted over 1/2 mile from where we hooked him at this point. Nick is worn out, all we know is we have something heavy, it wasn't fighting like an AJ and everyone was guessing what it was, big tuna, cobia? 

Another 15 minutes roll by and we see color, monster AJ!!! We didn't realize how big till he popped on the surface, I stuck a gaff in him, and Mike stuck him with the second gaff and he still wasn't budging!! Andy grabbed the tail and he hit the deck, dead as a doornail and spit up a ton of coagulated blood. Our guess is his heart exploded form the fight. 

Next problem is where to put him, I broke a monster fish bag trying to get him inside, finally we pack him in with a wet towel on top and ice around him and call Jim (Realtor) and Fat Jax, they are at a rig nearby and we ask if they can maybe take him for us, we have no cooler or deck storage to hold him properly. It's too big for their boat too, so they snap a picture for us (thanks!) and offer us a digital scale to try out there, the fish maxed the scale out at 120 but we are all still skeptical at this point. Long story short, we move on to another rig, finish off our limit of AJs (Andy picked upa nice 40 lber that looked like a baby next to the dinosaur on board) and we head to Petronius to catch the night BFT bite. It was hot, and within a couple hours of chaos and blood flying and having 5 simultaneous hookups, we are out of fish storage space and ice and head home about 2145. Left them biting hot.

All and all best day of fishing I have ever had, it was a great crew, beautiful conditions, and great fishing. Everyone is worn out, and we put our tackle and gear to the test.We made it in by 0015 and grabbed some more ice for the fish, 3 hour nap and back at Outcast at 0600 to weigh the big boy. 128.68 lbs on the official scales, pending line class world record. He is in the freezer at Outcast, waiting for IGFA id and verification stuff. Special thanks to Tommy and everyone at outcast for being so helpful. 

As you can see in the pictures, he almost smashed the jig in half when he hit it, it really is remarkable that those little assist hooks held and Nick was able to finesse him to the boat without breaking him off. Great day on the water, delicious grilled tuna tonight  We are truly blessed to live in such an amazing place.

Stuggling to lift him










Crew Minus Jake





































Jim and Crew










Our crew and catch, minus Nick and the big AJ


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## Rat

WOW!!! thats a stud.....


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## FISHUNT7

WOW! Now that's a fish story! Great job on the catch and congratulations. Hope the record goes through for you. Sounds like you guys had a blast. Thanks for posting the pics.


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## NaClH2O

Great post that is an amazing fish for sure. He really CRUSHED that jig.

Team Recess

Rob


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## Mullethead

Nice! :bowdown:bowdown:bowdown


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## Clay-Doh

Josh your a good man. ANd Nick, your a good man...haa haa. You guys are my idols. Rock on, thanx for the details. Gonna have to take Renee' up there and see this beast in person


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## nb&twil

I'm tellin you... That Momoi is NO JOKE!! Congrats on an awesome fish!


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## Chris V

Awesome catch! Congrats and hope the record goes through.


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## Magic236

Congrats on a great trip, one STUD AJ, hope you are awarded a World Record!


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## Downtime2

Damn fine catch. An accomplishment for sure...


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## ScullsMcNasty

:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown


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## wrightackle

Well I guess you don't need a eight hundred dollar reel to vertical jig. You struck a blow for all the poor peons slogging away out there!It will be interesting to see what the moi-moi will test out at. I am guessing you were using the hi-catch moi-moi. However it turns out that is a phenominal catch.


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## swhiting

SWEET!!! I hope your record holds and the prize is an unlimited supply of back ointment!!!!!!!!!!


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## Fiver

Awesome!....and on a jig...that is crazy. I figured you would have to send a 25# blackfin down there to get an AJ that size.


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## Splittine

> *ScullsMcNasty (4/2/2010)*:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown


What he said.


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## James Fink

Congrats Nick! Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy!


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## Heller High Water

Awesome report and congrats on an outstanding fish! :hoppingmad:hoppingmad:hoppingmad


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## how2fish

Congrats great report..having once done battle with a 90+ A.J I understand the skill, luck, team work and pain it takes to land such a fish! Great job! Mine was caught in a 6/0 with 120lb mono and nearly killed me..and did kill the A.J. Congrats again and I hope that record is yours..you worked for it !:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown


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## user6993

Very nicely done . That boat must have an AJ magnet in it. Congrates on a fine catch, I too hope it holds up for you. WOW. Gene


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## lobsterman

That is the mack daddy for sure. Somebody endured some serious pain.


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## gone-awol

OK, I've been on here a while always reading the posts..Why is it that sometimes I can see the pictures and sometimes all I get is a box with a RED X in it????


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## -=Desperado=-

Pretty Bad Ass.Glad to see you guys hooked up on some nice fish.Know what you mean when you say you filled the box up to capacity.Sucks when you have to leave a good bite when you run out of room.Thanks for the report


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## Joey_d133

Thats awesome!!!! Those Penn spinning reels aint no joke. Its cool to see somebody come out with a fish like that on such light tackle. We drop 250lb braid on a 30w Tiagra strapped to a bent butt and we still lose fish. Great report :clap


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## mopbucket

Hands Down, the largest AJ that I have ever seen. Awesome catch and good luck on the record books.

:bowdown:clap


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## Realtor

Congrats!!!! As they were telling us about this thing on the radio, we were "okay, will wait to see this thing...." When we managed to catch up to each other, I looked into their boat, and i thought they had human body wrapped up, Nope, not Mike, he is standing there looking at us. Not Fenderbender, he is standing there smiling like he did something wrong.... Nope, not any of the others we saw earlier on that boat. They unwrapped the pig, I just about pooped!, Mark was like "WOW". We have a pretty big fishbox, but NOT that BIG.

Super nice fish!

We managed the usual 50 or so BFT,s several 40-50LB AJ's. mark had a short struggle with a huge shark till it wore through the 250LB wind-on leader in about 3 minutes:banghead Great weather window, glad to see you guys out there! mark get the picture uploaded soon!

Again, Congratulations on that PIG Huge Friggin AJ"


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## Mikvi

_Igotta thank Josh for the chance to go on that trip. I_t truly was an experience, even for a jaded old man like me. It wasn't until the night before that we managed to get a crew together. This trip was a testament to teamwork and the power of prayer. Josh's mother led us in prayer before the trip and it payed off. Of course there was alot of prayer during the fight also; specially when Nicks shirt caught in the line  As this was the first offshore trip of the year, I have to wonder, what's the rest of the season going to be like. I'm off to grill AJ.


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## Realtor

Amen, my friend.


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## bluffman2

SON OF A B*$*$!

thats a monster!.....great job angler and crew!


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## Corpsman

Amazing fish guys! Congrats!


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## reeltime

That's a hoss right there. Congrats. Hope the record holds up. if not that's still one fine catch.


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## SUNDAY-FUNDAY

just goes to show you that you don't need a 2500 dollar set-up to catch fish. Great job, and good luck on the IFGA record!!!


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## Pass Time

I knew Penn reels were worthy.I love my 8500ss and I *will* be switching to momoi. I would also be waiting by the phone for Penn and Momoi to be calling you for that endorsement deal. If they don't call in a day or so I would definately call them. Awesome, awesome catch guys...sounds like a GREAT day on the water.

edit: and Williamsom jigs


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## JoeyWelch

can't really say anything that hasn't been said. congratulations. this is a memory that will last your whole life. hope you get the record. ya'll da man


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## MSViking

Super cool! Just goes to show you that you never know what might hit or how large when you are out in the gulf! Great Job guys!!


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## superchicken

Wow!!! That is awesome, wonder how many pounds of worms he had? Great job and good luck with the record.


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## FenderBender

Thanks for the replies everyone, the 40 lb AJ actually was not wormy at all. The saying of the day before the trip started was "anything could happen out there" and it came true, you really never know unless you get out there. Everyone on our crew feels blessed to have been a part of it for sure.


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## Stumpknocker

The first gaff attempt was the best, when it just bounced off his head. I about had a heart attack on that one. But thanks for all the replies guys, that experience was up there with my biggest buck and best turkey hunts. Can't beat it.


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## Domtasc

An Absolute monster. Great job guys


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## FenderBender

Thanks Mark and Jim for the pictures


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## tom wicker

Sweet catch. :bowdown:bowdown


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## Island24

What is the time frame to hear back on the pending record? Great job on landing that monster!


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## cobe killer

MAN I'M SPEECHLESS..........THATS JUST PLAIN AWSOME. GREAT JOB ON LANDING A FISH OF A LIFETIME.:clap:clap:clap


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## Stumpknocker

> *Island24 (4/5/2010)*What is the time frame to hear back on the pending record? Great job on landing that monster!




My guess is at least a few months until it's all verified. I still have to send in the paperwork and the line so it can get tested, then it's just a waiting game...


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## carwashdoctor

What a fish. Took a lot of skill, and Lady Luck to get everything right on that one.



I know Mike V, couldn't happen to a better bunch of guys. Mike hosted 4 wondering fishermen from Georgia interested, in nothing more than fishing at his personal home back in September. I was planning on coming down Easter weekend and fishing but work wouldn't allow it. Great job to crew and angler!:bowdown


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## ShurKetch

Damn impressive catch...........hope you get the record.


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## Tom Pace

absolute studtrain...congrats


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## P-cola_Native

I can only imagine the fight and resulting pain/soreness. :bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown


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## BIGRIGZ

WOW, that is AWESOME!!



Make sure to rep the local folks when you go SUPERSTAR WORLD RECORD HOLDER!


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## Team Bloody Waters

That is one nice fish! :bowdown

I do believe thats the trip I turned down an invite to go on?:banghead:banghead:banghead

Thanks again Josh for the invite to go fishing with you guys and now I really wish I would have been able to go!

You guys rock!:letsdrink


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## Runned Over

If I'm not mistaken, Fender Bender, who works on Rigs, is safe? and has figured out how to get on the new forum. 

Bump for an update on his crews AJ record!!! :usaflag


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## JoeyWelch

This one still amazes me. Even after i have looked at the pictures a hundred times. i hope you get that record.


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## fishinstevez

what an absolute beast! i wonder whats gonna be in this fishes gut? congrats on a biggun!:usaflag


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## JoeyWelch

What ever happened here? Did ya'll get the record? Anybody? Know?


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## FenderBender

Hey, man this was revived from a while back... Nick (the guy that caught him) never sent off for the record. He is a wildland firefighter in Leesburg FL now. Last time I checked the fish was in the freezer at Outcast!


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## JoeyWelch

Oh well. Still a beautiful fish.

Man, what a fish!!


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## jdhkingfisher

id be calling king sailfish mounts or something. thats insane.


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## Island24

Anyone know why he did not send off for the record?


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## CatHunter

iv seen that fish in the freezer when i went in there to get some Boston mackerel, funny too he still had the jig in his mouth


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## FenderBender

Happy 4 year anniversary!


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## MrFish

FenderBender said:


> Happy 4 year anniversary!


I'm guessing it was never certified?


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## willr86

Dude thats ridiculous. Awesome fish. Must of been STOKKKKKEEEED


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## Fielro

Awesome AJ, hope you get the record


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## bcahn

Holly molly, that's the biggest fish I've ever seen, congrats guys, what an awesome catch!


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## Kailua Boy

Congratulations on a great catch and awesome trip!!! Hanapa'a!!!


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## WhyMe

I think your going to need a bigger bag. Great work.
WhyMe 
Mako My Dayo


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## Scardog7

Aaah, . . . this post is four years old.


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## Jason

Man that's great....I just read today about the 125 lb'r caught off MS or AL not sure where but he used an 8 lb spanish to catch that un!!! Both bait and catch were studs! 

That fish right there is plainly awesome and probably would have had an extra pound or 2 if he was put on ice right away. Now we won't hear we need a bigger boat....we need a bigger coffin!!!

Congrats to the whole crew and Jim and them fer trying to help!!!


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## Mikvi

The fish puked a gallon of blood on the deck and died. I'm sure it would have been well over 130 if we could have kept it in good condition.


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## Kim

Awesome!


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## my3nme

That is a crazy big fish, congrats


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## DreamWeaver21

Scardog7 said:


> Aaah, . . . this post is four years old.


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