Meet the Monster of Gulf Makos
MAKO MEN: Lane Foil, third from left, is all smiles after his shark catch.
Photo: Courtesy of Lane Foil
Lane foil of baton rouge hauled in a pending louisiana state-record mako shark with a 765-pounder he caught earlier this year. What’s more is that Foil’s shark-347 pounds heavier than the current state record-is the biggest mako ever caught on a rod and reel in the Gulf of Mexico. Foil hooked up with the shark moments after it surfaced and snatched the 130-pound yellowfin Foil’s buddy was reeling in. And while Foil was pumped about his fish, he said he could only wonder about the weight it lost on the ride back: “The 765 pounds…that was on an empty stomach.”.
| |HAVE A COW: Clay Armstrong’s 68.1-pounder is a state record. Photo: Courtesy of Clay Armstrong| Last year Paul Kleckner set the Virginia state record for striped bass with a 63.5-pounder. Hopefully he enjoyed it while it lasted. In March of this year, Clay Armstrong took the title with a 68.1-pound striper caught on an umbrella rig off Virginia Beach. At this rate, the next to break the Virginia record might just top the world record.
| |TOP SPOT: Barclay Shepard’s trout set a line-class record. Photo: Courtesy of Barclay Shepard| As a cameraman for the Virginia show, “Smokin’ Gun Outdoors,” Barclay Shepard has an insider’s advantage to some hot honey holes. So while filming at a top-notch seatrout spot, he took close notes. Good ones, too. Shepard went back to the spot later and broke an IGFA line-class record with a 12.1-pound gator on four-pound line.
Honorable Mention
| Michael Smith caught a 9.3-pound queen triggerfish, a pending all-tackle world record, off Florence, South Carolina.
| A backhoe was needed to lift Lane Foil’s 765-pound, Louisiana state-record mako shark from the boat.
