iStockphoto / FtLaudGirl / Olga Gorkun
Snook is one of the most sought-after game fish in the world. They can be caught in the Atlantic and Pacific, all throughout the Gulf and Caribbean, and here in Florida they are arguably the most popular fish that anglers chase year after year as they fight like crazy, put on wild aerial shoes jumping all over the place, and during season they are absolutely delicious though most anglers practice catch-and-release when it comes to snook in Florida.
And while home state of Florida lays claim to being the ‘Fishing Capital of the World,’ Costa Rica also has a good claim to that title. The country has world class fishing on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts where snook can be caught on both sides. And Costa Rica is where the new IGFA all-tackle world record snook was just landed, a 72-pound, 9-ounce Pacific black snook.
New All-Tackle World Record Snook Caught In Quepos, Costa Rica
I have yet to have the chance to fish for snook in Quepos but I’ve gone fishing for roosterfish there and the waters are teeming with life. Literally, the water was bubbling with bait fish when we were fishing for roosterfish.
The angler, Will Hefley, caught the new world record Pacific black snook on May 9th. It tipped the certified scale at 32.19-kilogram (72-pound, 9-ounce) and became a new IGFA fishing world record both for the all-tackle world record for the species and the Men’s 24-kg (50 lb) Line Class World Record.
There are 10 distinct subspecies of ‘snook‘ eligible for IGFA fishing world records and the Pacific Black Snook is the largest among them. The subspecies include Atlantic Snook, Pacific Snook, Common Snook, Fat Snook, Mexican Snook, Pacific Black Snook, Pacific Blackfin Snook, Pacific White Snook, Swordspine Snook, and Tarpon Snook.
In July of last year, an angler in Mexico landed a new world record for the Pacific White Snook which weighed 60 pounds, 13 ounces. The Pacific White Snook as a subspecies only falls short of the Black Snook. His world record snook was weighed at the world famous Pez Vela Marina in Quepos and it barely resembles a snook. It looks more like a mini submarine than a snook:
Will Hefley landed his record-setting fish on a live sardine. Typically live bait is caught right there at the marina as fish tend to congregate around the anchor lines off boats. As long as the tide isn’t slack there are a lot of bait fish to be found right there.
While the IGFA posted that this “record is pending” on Instagram, they have already listed the fish on their website along side the previous world record fish which was caught by angler Captain Ward Michaels, also in Quepos, and that fish weighed 59 pounds, 8 ounces. So this is a leap of 13 pounds, 1 ounce from the previous record. Unreal!
What’s the biggest snook you’ve ever caught? Let me know in the comments section down below!