Guy Catches World Record Barracuda In Costa Rica, Doesn’t Find Out Until After He’s Already Eaten The Fish

During a fishing tournament at the Crocodile Bay Resort in Costa Rica angler Dennis Tilden reeled in a Pacific Barracuda weighing in at just under 32-pounds, which is 23-pounds heavier than the current IGFA record for Pacific Barracuda, and 4-pounds heavier than the largest recorded Pacific Barracuda ever caught. Great news for Dennis Tilden, right? He caught himself a world record Pacific Barracuda and is on the fast track to the fishing world record books! Not so fast. As it turns out neither angler Dennis Tilden, the captain of the both, or the other anglers realized that they had a world record on their hands.

It wasn’t until after the chef at the Crocodile Bay Resort in Puntarenas had cooked up the fish into delicious ceviche when Dennis mentioned that the captain of his boat had said ‘he’d never seen a barracuda so big’ that the chef put two and two together, and realized he’d just turned an IGFA World Record Pacific Barracuda into ceviche for the hotel’s guests.

Unlike big barracuda from the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico that is notorious for containing extremely high levels of the toxin ciguatera that can be poisonous when eaten, Pacific Barracuda is apparently delicious when served fresh or made into ceviche, so the chef didn’t hesitate to filet up the fish and serve it to his guests during the annual three day fishing tournament held at the Crocodile Bay Resort in Costa Rica.

Crocodile Bay Resort is a world-renowned fishing lodge that’s been on my radar for years, at it’s home to some of the best off-shore fishing for sailfish and marlin anywhere in the world. In addition to the ‘world record barracuda that never was’ caught by Dennis Tilden, other highlights from the Boston Whaler Fishing Tournament include 88 sailfish being raised, 22 of those sailfish being released (a ‘release’ on a billfish counts once one of the crew members puts a hand on the leader), as well as 7 marlin raised and 3 released.

You can check out a full recap of the Boston Whaler Fishing Tournament at the Crocodile Bay fishing lodge over here on their blog (or go ‘like’ them on Facebook HERE), and check out their fishing packages + rates if you’re like me, and have had them on your ‘fishing bucket list’ for a few years as one of the places you’d give your left leg to go fishing at.