Massive snapper caught by Texas spear fisherman could shatter state and world records
A freediving fisherman may have speared a state and world-record shattering fish off of the Texas Gulf coast during a recent fishing trip.
The spear fisherman, Braden Sherron, caught a 137-pound cubera snapper on June 3, Port Aransas Fisherman’s Wharf wrote in a June 10 social media post.
Photos shared by the wharf show Sherron hoisting the massive orange and gray fish, and helping check its weight back at the dock.
Sherron’s catch tipped the marina’s scale at 137 pounds, and if approved by officials, would beat the state record set in 1983, by six pounds, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department records.
It would also surpass the current all-tackle record for cubera snapper recognized by the International Game Fish Association, which weighed 124 pounds and was caught in 2007 in Garden Bank, Louisiana.
It isn’t clear why the IGFA doesn’t recognize the 131-pound catch in Texas.
“We are so thankful he chose Port Aransas Fisherman’s Wharf to weigh and take pictures of this monster of a Cubera Snapper!” the post said.
Cubera snappers are one of the largest species of snapper in the world, making them “highly prized by game fishermen and commercial fisheries throughout the Caribbean and South Atlantic,” according to the University of Florida.
Sherron has submitted paperwork to officials regarding his catch, but until it’s approved, the current record-holders won’t be dethroned, the San Antonio News-Express reported. It could take up to two weeks for a decision to be made.
Sherron also has a YouTube channel where he documents his hunts, both on sea and land.
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