Gigantic Amberjack
Local fisherman Mack brought quite a catch back to Cruz Bay Friday afternoon. An Amberjack that was so big, Chris Tronquet, Captain of World Class Anglers, says it will be a long time before anyone sees one that big again.
The fish wasn’t caught on Captain Chris’ boat, but it was weighed on Chris’ scale.
“My scale goes to 110 pounds, and the needle kept going,” says Chris. It might have been close to 130 pounds. It’s the biggest one I’ve seen in a decade. It’ll be that long before anybody sees another one this big. ”
Unfortunately the fish was dead by the time the fight was over, so it couldn’t be thrown back. We’re told Amberjack aren’t particularly good eating either, especially with the risk of ciguatera.
Chris says it took Mack two and a half hours to bring it in, but “it would’ve taken a normal person twice that long.”
November 21st, 2009 07:38
Congratulations Mack! Good catch.. guess you could mount it over the fireplace if you had one.
November 21st, 2009 08:44
So of course there has to be two question:
1) Where did he catch it?
2) What was he using to catch it?
Of course in true fishing form, I suspect the answer to be: in the water with bait
November 21st, 2009 09:03
Way to go, Mack!! What a catch!!
November 21st, 2009 09:18
I “feel” like a normal person but given 5 hours or 500 hours .. ain’t nothing I coulda done with that thing! Wow!
November 21st, 2009 11:23
Am i the only 1 feeling sorry 4 the fish??? especially since it will not be eaten, and thus wasted life…
November 21st, 2009 11:58
I feel bad for the fish too, but if it was hooked they had to bring it in anyway, right? In order to get the hook out? And maybe they weren’t sure what they had till quite a ways along?
November 21st, 2009 12:00
What a fish!!! I bet you are sore today – all the struggle to bring it in. The sad part is, you can’t do anything with it except stuff it. Did it break any records on the island?
November 21st, 2009 13:50
That gigantic fish must have had quite an appetite. The lives of many smaller fish were spared today due to its demise.
November 21st, 2009 14:17
That fish was old and was probably a grand daddy. He survived a lot only to be killed by a human. How sad. If they had cut the line, the hook would have rusted and he would have survived. I hope the fisherman posts here to let us know if the fish will or won’t be wasted.
November 21st, 2009 17:47
Amberjack is great eating! I am sure it was not all wasted! Mack does not waste fish!
It was not metioned that this fish was caught on a hand line, not with a fishing pole.
November 21st, 2009 18:38
Don’t underestimate the edibility of that fish. West Indians have been eating fish that scares stateside folk for centuries.
I just want to know if, true to his normal form, he hauled that bad boy in with a hand line like something out of “Old Man and the Sea”. Not quite World Class Anglers style.
Big Ups Calbo!!!!
November 21st, 2009 21:12
Amberjack is WONDERFUL eating!! There’s a great little fish shack in Destin, Florida that serves the best amberjack sandwiches. If they didn’t use it for food they were wasteful.
November 22nd, 2009 00:49
Destin Fl. does not have the likelihood of ciguetera occurring in large predatory fish that we have here in the VI – large amberjack pose a solid risk of causing fish poisoning and this is way past Large! – it is a delicious fish but I doubt that many West Indians have ever seen one that big – there is no easy definitive test available either.
November 22nd, 2009 13:19
It’s not waste if he uses the meat as bait to catch other fish that he subsequently eats, right? Think outside the box here people!