A new world-record grouper caught off the Florida coast was just made official by the International Game Fish Association. Benny Ortiz caught the big gag grouper, which measured 98 centimeters (or roughly 35.6 inches) long and established a new length record for the species. And the fish could be caught again, since Ortiz released it back into the Gulf.
“I was pretty sure it was going to be the record for length when it came up,” says Ortiz, a Shimano saltwater pro and longtime Florida angler.
Ortiz caught the world-record grouper about 100 miles offshore from Madeira Beach in July, and it was just made official by the IGFA. The gag grouper replaces the previous length record of 89 centimeters (around 35 inches) that was set in 2014. Unlike traditional all-tackle records, which must be weighed on shore and are often killed in the process, length records can be measured on the boat according to IGFA regs and then released.
“So many people, including myself, just didn’t know that was a thing [until recently],” Ortiz says. “We’re facing closures and other restrictions, so in my mind, for conservation, this makes perfect sense … With the length records, that fish survives. Or, at least, I gave it the best shot possible at surviving.”
Ortiz, an attorney, grew up in New York fishing freshwater streams and ponds in the Catskills. His first cast in saltwater happened 18 years ago, when he moved to Florida and took a job as legal counsel for a water management district. Five years later, he made the switch from bait fishing to slow-pitch jigging.
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“I like slow pitch because it’s hard,” he says. “The tackle we use is very light. The rods are tiny, and we use light lines. It doesn’t make sense to a lot of people, but it’s a combination of skill, finesse, and power that all comes together to catch fish … It’s sporting, sort of like fly fishing or archery hunting.”
Ortiz was out fishing for red snapper that July day with Figured It Out Charters. There were five other anglers on the boat, plus the captain and one mate. He was using a Shimano Infinity Motive M rod and an Ocea Jigger LD reel, complete with a fluorocarbon leader and a 224-g Shimano Butterfly Flat-Side jig.
“I brought [the jig] up slow,” he recalls. “At 40 feet, I get a hit, then nothing. At 60 feet, I get hammered. I realized immediately it was a respectable fish because it had a lot of drag.”
Ortiz usually fishes a jig with four hooks, which is what he teaches beginners to use, too. He’d lost one of his hooks on a big snapper right before he hooked the record gag grouper, but the action was so hot he didn’t stop to re-rig. It’s a good thing, too, because IGFA rules limit anglers to a maximum of three hooks.
“Had I re-rigged, it wouldn’t count. The time I don’t do what I always tell people to do, and I catch a world record.”
He and his friends quickly shot photos of the fish being measured. They also took a video of the three hooks being removed before they slowly released the fish back into the water. They used a Seaqualizer descending device to help the fish recover safely.
“The cool thing with slow-pitch jig fishing is you never know what’s going to come up,” Ortiz says. “Could be grouper, snapper, tuna, could be anything. Is it the biggest gag I’ve ever caught? Absolutely not … But it is the longest.”
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