Potential world-record bonefish landed in Islamorada

[Sam]

The blustery day may have caused Bob Schroeder to shelve his flyrod, but it didn't keep him from catching a potential world record 16-pound, 3-ounce bonefish on the Islamorada flats March 19. The monster bonefish, which was brought alive to the scales at The Worldwide Sportsman before being released, is a hopeful to beat the current record in the 12-pound-test class – a 16-pounder caught by Jerry Lavenstein in 1971. Schroeder, a school administrator from Connecticut, caught his fish on a spinning outfit loaded with 10-pound Power Pro braid with a mono leader while fishing with Captain Paul DiMaura of Islamorada.

"It was blowing so hard we had to put the [fly] rods down," Schroeder told Fla-Keys.com. He picked up his spinning gear, and after spotting the bonefish from about 100 yards away, he made the perfect cast with the wind."It turned out to be one of those perfect shots. The shrimp landed far enough in front of the fish not to spook it. It came by and ate the shrimp." Captain DiMaura was humble about the catch. "It could have happened to anybody, and it happened to us, and I appreciate that," he told Fla-Keys.com. "It was being in the right time and the right place."

Line samples and documentation of the catch will be reviewed by the IGFA before world-record status is decided. The bonefish could qualify for either the 12-pound- or 16-pound-test class records.

Source: Fla-Keys.com

[Randy Stinchcomb]

WOW, 16lb Bone on L/T thats just great, Congrats
now, I wonder if that real needs to be rebuilt after that