16-year-old Minnesota girl reels in massive grouper in Gulf of Mexico
(Paul Hartman / Supplied)
(FOX 9) - What a catch! A Farmington, Minnesota girl appears to have broken a record with her boat-tilting goliath grouper that she reeled from the Gulf of Mexico this week.
The massive fish was also a first for Reegan Werner: Her first catch in the ocean and her first catch of the day.
(Paul Hartman / Supplied)
According to her stepfather and fishing guide Paul Hartman, the huge fish sets an International Game Fish Association record for a female angler at a calculated 583 pounds. The previous record was a 366 pounder.
The goliath grouper also measured in at 83 inches long and 75 inches of girth.
(Paul Hartman / Supplied)
Hartman says, because goliath groupers are protected from harvest, they quickly released the fish after reeling it in.
"There are stories of old commercial fishermen getting fish near this size and there are also a few of this caliber that have been hooked by handline on the Atlantic side, but this catch was special. The entire battle was incredible, but it lasted just 15 minutes," Hartman wrote.