Teen girl hauls in record wahoo
A Texas teenager landed a 184-pound wahoo near Cabo San Lucas last month -- a fish that appears big enough to be a new all-tackle world record.
Fifteen-year-old Sara Hayward of Nacogdoches, Texas, caught the fish while angling with her father, Tim, aboard the Pez Espada II on July 29, says Minerva Saenz of Minerva’s Baja Tackle. Saenz, a representative with the International Game Fish Assn., verified the weight using certified scales.
The girl fought the fish for about 35 minutes after it struck a trolled lure on 50-pound line about 5 miles southeast of Cabo San Lucas. Hayward looked in the water and screamed, “It’s a big one!” when she saw the fish, Saenz says.
Wahoo, one of the fastest fish in the ocean, are sleek swimming torpedoes that can shred tackle with a blistering burst when hooked. The existing world record is 158 pounds, 8 ounces.
Chuck Garrison
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