A dorado caught off Cabo San Lucas last week was said to have weighed 102 pounds, which is 15 pounds heavier than a world record that has stood since 1976.
The massive dorado–a.k.a mahi-mahi or dolphinfish–was caught by Brian Lindsey, a visitor from Mississippi, aboard Shambala, a yacht chartered through Pisces Sportfishing.
The weight was obtained using a hand spring scale, and the fish was quickly filleted because the crew didn’t want the meat to spoil in the hot weather. So it cannot qualify as a record, and nobody will ever know what it might have weighed on a certified scale.
"The fish was weighed on a typical hanging scale," Lindsey said. "Again, we have extensive documentation of the fish, and a video of capture. It was also measured and documented by a local biologist, who gave a weight estimate based off length and size."
Pisces managers did not know about the fish until the Shambala anglers entered the office after returning to port, according to Pisces general manager Tracy Ehrenberg.
As soon as they were shown photos they telephoned the fillet dock to try to prevent the cutting process, but they were too late.
“If the fish truly weighed 102 pounds, we knew without looking [at the record book] that this would be the biggest dorado ever caught on rod and reel,” Ehrenberg said.
The dorado was hooked on a silver-and-black lure on the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula, and landed after a 20-minute fight on 50-pound-test line.
The International Game Fish Association lists as the all-tackle world record for dolphinfish–dorado is the Spanish name, meaning “golden one”–an 87-pounder caught off Costa Rica in 1976.
–Photos courtesy of Pisces Sportfishing
I do have slight problem with the description above as it is said the fish was quickly filleted because the crew was worried the meat might spoil in the heat. It is against the law here to fillet on board, and later in the description it is said that the fillet station was contacted to stop the fillet process. Well, only one of these should be true unless the fish was caught at the tail end of the trip. Also, almost every Captain I know here is aware of the record weights (unlimited at least, most do not know line class records) and if that fish weighed 102 on a hand held spring scale each and every one of them would have notified Minerva's Tackle of the fish so it could be weighed on land with an IGFA rep present, then the scale sent in for certification. Not trying to burst anyone's bubble here, but come on guys, as mentioned above, it is a big, fantastic fish, and kudos to the angler.
Posted by: Capt. George Landrum | Jul 23, 2015 at 11:24 AM
The picture and video do remind me a little bit of the "11 foot" rattlesnake pictures I have seen recently on Facebook. Not sure why an experienced guide would not have had plenty of ice and space to get such a large fish in to the dock.
Posted by: Jim | Jul 22, 2015 at 10:02 PM
It was weighed on shore everyone. And Jennifer is correct that Pisces doesn't own Shambala. We do.
Posted by: Jon | Jul 22, 2015 at 06:43 AM
Shambala is not owned by Pisces ... they just charter it. Regardless, nice fish.
Posted by: Jennifer | Jul 21, 2015 at 07:24 PM
Steve, that's what I was thinking but the fish looks super thick even down by the tail. It's a shame that we'll never know.
Posted by: Pete Thomas | Jul 20, 2015 at 02:41 PM
Hi Pete,
Of course photos can be deceiving, but that fish does not look like 102 pounds.
There are a few photos around of confirmed 80-90 pounders, including one caught by Dennis Braid in Panama recently that look a LOT bigger than this one.
And of course there is a reason IGFA does not allow records for fish weighed at sea, as the pitching boat drastically affects the readings.
Unless those guys are the size of Shaq, from the photo that fish looks to be 70-75 pounds.
Posted by: Steve Carson | Jul 20, 2015 at 02:10 PM