BIGGEST BLACKFISH EVER CAUGHT ON VIDEO 17 & 21 1/2 pound

[Johnny Bucktails]

Video tells the story as usual !! Awesome day in cape may on the fishin fever landing my new pb at 17 pounds and Kurtis landing his new pb at 21 1/2 pounds. Right next to each other two minutes apart. Enjoy the video

#JustSayin #JohnnyBucktailStyle

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6flBid8FeKM

[kurtisb]

I can't stop watching this video. haha

[NoLimit]

Awesome!

[fishunt]

nice! great job!:)

[SaltLife1980]

Awesome fish Kurtis! Well deserved

[Foul Hook]

Kurtis B!! Nice Hog!!

[hammer4reel]

Congrats to both of you on awesome blackfish

[Reelron]

It was great to be on that trip with you guys!
Johnny, you have come a long way, I am impressed with how you manage to absorb what you are told and put it to good use almost immediately. You have caught some nice fish in the last couple trips.
Kurtis, if we could ever get you to stop talking you might even catch a fish or two! JK, Super Fish Buddy, You motivate me every year, now I have to go looking for that 23..............

Can't say enough about the boat, captain or mate! Looking forward to the spring trips!

[bunker dunker]

congrats to both of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! great fish

[hartattack]

What a catch, what a crew, what a video - congrats Johnny and Kurtis: you must've been floating on Cloud 9 all the way back from Cape May - perseverance pays :)

[Blackfish Doug]

2 great Blackfisherman putting in their time to get these beauties congratulations to the both of you I'm envious.

[Man Workin]

I can't stop watching either. Congrats.

[Gerry Zagorski]

WOW!! :eek::eek: Congrats John and Kurtis. 2 amazing fish

[tinboat]

Super job! What a day!

[GDubya07]

Congrats to both of you

WOW - Pigasauruses x 2

Gdubs-:cool:

[Johnny Bucktails]

Thank you all for the kind words !!

[Hunter 2]

Congratulations men! 2 very nice sized fish that most never get a chance to catch. Well deserved..

[shrimpman steve]

Wow. Congrats to Johnny and kurtis!


Nice seeing my bud Stelios in the background.

Boy that video makes me miss toggin

[henro]

Nice video congrats!

[dakota560]

Two amazing fish, congratulations to both anglers and to the Captain who put you on those trophies. You guys are obviously hard core tog fisherman. The hours you put in and the distances you travel in pursuit of a monster proves that. I read a few articles which said a 20 lb black fish is probably a fifty year plus old fish. If true, those two fish combined were over 100 years old. Why not take measurements if you want a glass mount made, snap a few quick pictures and release these trophies as opposed to sticking a scale in their gills, throwing them in a garbage can and having it for dinner. There are few black fish that reach these sizes, just seems it would make sense to protect the ones that do. And again that assumes the fish can be released with pressure change, just seemed like both those fish had a lot left in them when they were netted. Not criticizing your right to keep them, just seems counter intuitive relative to the passion you have chasing and catching these trophies.

[EddieG]

Amen was waiting for someone to say that!!! Either way great catch!!

[Sullivan]

I agree ! Great catch .

[Johnny Bucktails]

Two amazing fish, congratulations to both anglers and to the Captain who put you on those trophies. You guys are obviously hard core tog fisherman. The hours you put in and the distances you travel in pursuit of a monster proves that. I read a few articles which said a 20 lb black fish is probably a fifty year plus old fish. If true, those two fish combined were over 100 years old. Why not take measurements if you want a glass mount made, snap a few quick pictures and release these trophies as opposed to sticking a scale in their gills, throwing them in a garbage can and having it for dinner. There are few black fish that reach these sizes, just seems it would make sense to protect the ones that do. And again that assumes the fish can be released with pressure change, just seemed like both those fish had a lot left in them when they were netted. Not criticizing your right to keep them, just seems counter intuitive relative to the passion you have chasing and catching these trophies.

Thank you and an extreme thank you for expressing your thoughts like a normal human being. They most definitely are a slow growing fish which is why people like myself and those of us who were on the boat that day release the majority of our big fish. At the depths in which we were fishing this day, releasing those larger fish is very difficult. Take a look at the eyes of the fish in the video and the noises that they make when coming out of the water, when reeled up so fast at such a great depth the bigger fish usually do not survive. Similar to how a diver must come up slowly because of pressure change like you mentioned. On top of this, the second both of these fish were netted we knew that they were going on the wall. Both fish are going to be a skin mount so taking the actual fish is needed. As long as the fish is in healthy condition to be released, the majority of the blackfish I personally catch over 10 pounds are released. I had over a dozen this year alone and most of them were released. Although we do not know if a fish of that size even spawns at that age, it is good practice to do so because it is an extreme possibility. At that size they usually don't taste to well either so a picture and quick release is worth a 1000 words. Hope this answers your question. Here is a video of the fish that I released on my boat this year alone.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RfOqb-eBaQ&t=116s

[dakota560]

JB....thanks for your reply and understanding the point of my question. Not trying to stir the pot, again remarkable catch and trophies. Another question that maybe others on the board have as well. I did notice the protruding eyes on both fish which is why I mentioned depth. Don't want to know what depth you were fishing since the Captain might not appreciate that information being released on a public forum. With that said, I assume there were smaller fish caught and shorts. If so did they have issues swimming back down in the depths you were fishing. Have you or anyone else noticed size of a black fish impacts their ability to sustain pressure change and swim down when released. Meaning do larger black fish have less tolerance to changes in pressure in deeper water than smaller black fish. If so, do black fish like sea bass have swim bladders that effect their buoyancy and would a vent tool help in releasing larger fish when fishing deeper depths. Would be interesting to know for anyone faced with the decision of potentially releasing bigger fish in deeper water. Like I said, it's amazing for any fish live that long, would hate to see one released and have it float away upside down.

[Johnny Bucktails]

JB....thanks for your reply and understanding the point of my question. Not trying to stir the pot, again remarkable catch and trophies. Another question that maybe others on the board have as well. I did notice the protruding eyes on both fish which is why I mentioned depth. Don't want to know what depth you were fishing since the Captain might not appreciate that information being released on a public forum. With that said, I assume there were smaller fish caught and shorts. If so did they have issues swimming back down in the depths you were fishing. Have you or anyone else noticed size of a black fish impacts their ability to sustain pressure change and swim down when released. Meaning do larger black fish have less tolerance to changes in pressure in deeper water than smaller black fish. If so, do black fish like sea bass have swim bladders that effect their buoyancy and would a vent tool help in releasing larger fish when fishing deeper depths. Would be interesting to know for anyone faced with the decision of potentially releasing bigger fish in deeper water. Like I said, it's amazing for any fish live that long, would hate to see one released and have it float away upside down.

I understand completely. Like i said it is usually the bigger fish that have the depth issue. To answer your question, the few smaller size fish that we did catch had no issue taking off. They seem to be more tolerable to the rapid depth change unlike the larger fish. The larger fish have a tough time with it and therefore usually don't survive. Of course i am not a biologist, just knowledge that i have obtained from fishing over my years. Once the eyes are popped out like that in my experiences the fish usually does not survive. I dont believe a venting tool would help with that because the noises that i mentioned is the air leaving the fishes body. In some cases you do see smaller size fish come up with their air bladders full. When this happens a venting tool does allow the fish to be released without any issues similar to sea bass which you mentioned. The bigger fish just have a low survival rate at deep depths

[NoLimit]

Two amazing fish, congratulations to both anglers and to the Captain who put you on those trophies. You guys are obviously hard core tog fisherman. The hours you put in and the distances you travel in pursuit of a monster proves that. I read a few articles which said a 20 lb black fish is probably a fifty year plus old fish. If true, those two fish combined were over 100 years old. Why not take measurements if you want a glass mount made, snap a few quick pictures and release these trophies as opposed to sticking a scale in their gills, throwing them in a garbage can and having it for dinner. There are few black fish that reach these sizes, just seems it would make sense to protect the ones that do. And again that assumes the fish can be released with pressure change, just seemed like both those fish had a lot left in them when they were netted. Not criticizing your right to keep them, just seems counter intuitive relative to the passion you have chasing and catching these trophies.

Why not? Because there is no sense of letting these old fish die of old age?

[SaltLife1980]

You gotta figure in that these fish fought for there lives with all they had from 100 feet down up to the surface. The smaller fish recover a lot better then the large ones. Only thing that you could try is throwing it in the live well and let it recover for a while then see if its still got the life left in it to make it back to the bottom. When you are fishing in 30 feet of water its a lot easier to release these larger fish bc you are not cranking them in from 80 plus feet. If you listen to the video the fish makes some wild noises when he gets it to the surface.

[kurtisb]

From what I've learned fishing with Captain Jerry, is that big females never recover. The big males swim away with no problem, but you can't get the females to swim.

[Togman316]

I released a 16lb female in 130ft of water in Maryland last year with no problem at all. I have also tried to release small fish in much shallower water with no luck. I honestly feel it depends on each fish. As far as keeping a big fish, if the fish is in season and it is legal size, it should be up to the angler.

[NJ Dave]

Well deserved catches. These guys put some serious time in day after day.
Congratulations!!!

[Reelron]

The week before this trip I caught a 20# fish and a 19# fish. on the same boat. The 20 came first and, After measurements and photos, we did attempt to release it with no success. The 19 was caught shortly after. Since I already had the 20 I said No Photos. SO after weighing, to make sure it wasn't bigger than the 20, we got it back in the water and as far as I know it did return to the bottom and survive. There is a short video of that on my Togaholics Anonymous page on FB.

You just never know how these big fish are going to respond and like the man said, if they are in season and you caught it legally the choice is yours! Well done John & Kurtis!

[hartattack]

Johnny - very eloquent, well thought out replies. Thanks for the explanations.

Ron - congrats on your beasts too !!

[MrAC1980]

#BeastMode!

[shrimpman steve]

Just a side note if one wants to catch and release. When I was pinhooking these fish in Montauk we had to reel the fish up slowly or we would be chastised by the captain. We had a great survival rate, and of coarse he got a lot more for live tog. All legal! But the key to the big fish surviving was a very slow trip to the surface.

[Foul Hook]

You just never know how these big fish are going to respond and like the man said, if they are in season and you caught it legally the choice is yours! Well done John & Kurtis!

Well Said Ron. It's the anglers choice. Period

[dakota560]

Well Said Ron. It's the anglers choice. Period

Just for the record, in my original post I said "Not criticizing your right to keep them" and I wasn't attacking JB, the crew or the Captain. As a matter of fact I was complimenting them on their catch, remarkable to catch one black fish that size much less two on the same trip no less. In JB's reply, which I appreciate, he understood the nature of my question.

There are many fisheries that have sort of an unwritten rule when it comes to trophy fish. More fresh water then salt water but they exist in salt as well. Muskies are one example and I see a similar analogy to the guys pursuing monster black fish. Guys who chase muskies always release them. it's considered sacrilege to kill one, especially a larger fish. Fish of 10,000 casts. It's the challenge as much as the catch to hook a monster fish and it's a borderline obsession to the people who chase them. Can say the same to some degree about steel head, flatheads, and even large mouth bass when it relates to trophy hunters. Many of the people who target these species release fish in the hopes of catching that one monster. A steel head over 20 lbs.. a flat head over 50 lbs. or a large mouth over 10 lbs.

I asked the question I did for two reasons. The guys on this trip I compare to serious musky hunters. They have an obsession pursuing tog which is great. Many times when you see people with this level of commitment, they release larger fish because they're not in it for the catch per se, they're in it for the sport and the challenge. Second reason was to ask about handling these trophies for those who decided on release and there were some great suggestions posted. These aren't 10 year old fish, articles suggest some may be well over 50 years old. That's an amazing fact!

So my question was essentially "For people with such a passion why not consider taking a few pics, make a glass mount and release the fish IF it was in a condition to be released?". JB was good enough to reply. I never criticized his decision or questioned his right which he acknowledged in his reply. I didn't question or challenge his reasons, I was interested in his perspective or anyone else's who target these brutes.

Catching a black fish this size is an AMAZING feat! Again kudos to the guys who put the time and effort in. It's cult like for all practical purposes. It's not shit luck they eventually connect. It says a lot about their commitment to the sport, their talent, and their respect for the fishery more than most. If musky are considered the fish of 10,000 casts, a 15 plus lb. black fish might be considered the fish of 20,000 drops! If science is correct, these fish are older than in many cases the angler catching them. That's pretty insane in this day and age when you consider all the fish pots, commercial operations, angler pressure, spear fisherman, natural predation a fish that size has to negotiate to attain that size. It's a remarkable feat to put it mildly. For people with the respect and passion for the sport to put the time and effort in that this crew does, in many fisheries for those same reasons guys with that passion when they do land a monster release them for all the same reasons that draw them to the sport. I asked the question I did because I was curious about different perspectives, wasn't trying to be anyone's judge and jury. Never attacked anyone, never criticized their decision and never said it wasn't the individual angler's right to retain these trophies if they were caught within the existing regulations.

Just want to put that out there for anyone who thought that was the intention of my original post. Don't want the thread to go south or take away from the accomplishments of the anglers and crew.

[shrimpman steve]

Dakota
Your questions in my opinion were fine and phrased in a non accusatory tone. And answered with respect and understanding. The way a dialogue should be handled. Well done to both you and Johnny for an adult conversation

[Joey Dah Fish]

Just a side note if one wants to catch and release. When I was pinhooking these fish in Montauk we had to reel the fish up slowly or we would be chastised by the captain. We had a great survival rate, and of coarse he got a lot more for live tog. All legal! But the key to the big fish surviving was a very slow trip to the surface.

Hmmmmmm I've never seen this guy catch a big fish. Was this BC or AD ?

[bunker dunker]

everytime i catch a blackfish and release it they begin to turn golden brown
and the panko statrs ,oh sorry.congrats again on some real beasts.

[shrimpman steve]

Hmmmmmm I've never seen this guy catch a big fish. Was this BC or AD ?

I miss you too brotha :)

[Tuna Tales]

Very nice catch guys!

Fish of a lifetime



And I can vouch for Shrimpman...here is a 7lber caught on my boat a few years ago.



Joe T.

[shrimpman steve]

Thanks for the back up joe:)