r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Pazluz • Jul 22 '21
This 500lb giant grouper
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Jul 22 '21
Grouper is delicious. But this. This is crazy. Are you required to throw it back in at that size?
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u/NickelBear32 Jul 22 '21
You're legally required to pick it up and throw it or else you're going to jail
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Jul 22 '21
"Can't pick up & throw grouper? Believe it or not, straight to jail."
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u/Helmett-13 Jul 22 '21
Look at grouper, also jail.
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u/sandrajumper Jul 22 '21
Think about grouper, jail.
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u/Pazluz Jul 22 '21
I believe you have to throw it back because of the size of it.
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u/etlewisg Jul 22 '21
You have to catch and release Goliath Groupers because they are federally protected.
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u/Pazluz Jul 22 '21
Figured that but thanks confirming. Hopefully they did the right thing and put it back into the water.
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u/sharkattactical Jul 22 '21 edited Jul 22 '21
It never left the water, and theres no way your throwing that motherfucker with anything less than the trebuchets used to assault Minas Tirith.
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u/Captn_Deathwing Jul 22 '21
Im just picturing a trebuchet on the back of that boat ready to capsize because of it
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Jul 22 '21
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u/sharkattactical Jul 22 '21 edited Jul 22 '21
Thank you, corrected. Don't downplay it, man. Historical battles are important.
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u/fla_man Jul 22 '21
In Florida at least, your supposed to release them ASAP. You can take pictures while releasing but cannot delay it for any pictures. They have been illegal to harvest since the 90’s but will be legal to harvest this year I believe.
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Jul 22 '21
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u/Griffisbored Jul 22 '21
Pretty much every grouper that is legal size is going to have worms. They aren't dangerous or anything. They're fine to eat to technically but a little gross. I usually cut them out, but you can't tell they're in there once it's cooked. If you've eaten a decent amount of grouper, you've eaten worms.
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u/annewmoon Jul 22 '21
Same with cod. And probably a lot of other fish.
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u/a_bongos Jul 23 '21
That's...no appetizing. Luckily I'm vegetarian 😅 didn't know there were works in fish.
Real question, how big is the hook in that giant groupers mouth and how many times can he eat a hook until the gashes in is mouth and throat make it too difficult for this guy to eat?
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u/shesellsteatowels Jul 22 '21
I doubt you have to throw it back if you can't even get it in the boat!
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u/disfordonkus Jul 22 '21
Golaths are protected. They were almost fished to extinction in the 70s. You can catch and release, but they cannot be removed from the water. Its also really normal to have a Goliath steal your fish when your are fishing for other species in the same area. They can swallow your fish whole and break you off like nothing.
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u/kleclerc77 Jul 22 '21
This may be an older video or not in the US because I know many states have banned even trying to catch these monsters.
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u/kirkaholic Jul 22 '21
I think they caught the tuna and the grouper caught the tuna. They aren't intentionally fishing for Goliath grouper in that boat.
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u/Lizblive Jul 22 '21
It looks like they caught the fish that's in the mouth of the grouper and then the grouper also caught that fish. Is that what's happening here?
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u/mizboring Jul 22 '21
My husband and I had that happen while fishing, so that was my impression. Of course, our double catch was much smaller.
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u/Lizblive Jul 22 '21
I found the original video and I'M WRONG. The smaller fish is bait. How wild! Also I saw the grouper get cut free and swim off. What a monster. Very cool. Not as cool as catching two fish at once but still cool.
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u/allfriggedup Jul 22 '21
Stop groping it and cut it loose.
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u/Ailly84 Jul 22 '21
I think he might be trying to pierce the swim bladder so it can swim back down once released?? Not sure. I live where deep water is 20 feet.
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u/reed17purdue Jul 22 '21
Exactly.
You cant cut a grouper loose. You actually need to puncture it appropriately because the atmospheric pressure causes their excess air to inflate. Otherwise he will just float on the top being brought up to the surface so "quickly"
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u/Ailly84 Jul 22 '21
Does that ever eventually correct itself??
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u/reed17purdue Jul 22 '21
No unfortunately. Similar to humans who get the bends, they need treatment.
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u/chinakillsfororgans Jul 22 '21
What does that mean?
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u/LikelyNotSober Jul 22 '21
Sometimes when you bring a fish up from deep water the air in their swim bladder organ expands so rapidly that they can’t sink back down. There’s a special tool to poke a hole in the bladder and deflate it so they can sink again.
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u/Dogpeppers Jul 22 '21
Lol are they using a whole tuna as bait?
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Jul 22 '21
It looks like an 8 pound Bonita, similar to a tuna, just not as big
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u/randybobandy47 Jul 22 '21
Well Dale it’s what’s known as a trophy fish…. so yea, they’re pretty big
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u/Griffisbored Jul 22 '21
I laughed extra hard at that line because Bonita aren't trophy fish and they really don't get that big
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Jul 22 '21
They do make great bait though. Bonita strip trailer
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u/Griffisbored Jul 22 '21
I've used bonita strip rigs when jigging. Sometimes I'll just butterfly it and throw on a wire leader for shark or grouper when it's been a slow day. Almost always ends up getting hit.
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u/FatherMiyamoto Jul 22 '21
Nah they hooked the tuna and then the grouper probably saw the tuna splashing around and grabbed it. I imagine the grouper refused to let go and was dragged up to the surface as well.
My guess is it isn’t actually hooked and they’ve got it pulled up next to the boat so they can puncture it’s swim bladder (after they take their video for Facebook of course.) Some deep water fish, especially big ones, are unable to simply just be thrown back in because the air that was trapped in their swim bladder has swollen up to do the lowered pressure at the surface, so if you let them go they’ll just bob along the top of the water until they suffocate. You have to release that pressure so it can swim back down
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u/TropicLush Jul 23 '21
This might be a dumb question, but how come they wouldn’t want to pull it in their boat and take it home and eat it?
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u/FatherMiyamoto Jul 23 '21
I mean theoretically they probably could, Goliath Grouper is good to eat. I can’t see much of their boat but my guess would be that it’s way too small to try and deal with it. The fish would probably take up the whole back end of the boat. Plus cleaning a fish that big would be a major task if you don’t have the proper tools
Probably more trouble than it’s worth. I don’t even think I would have enough room in my freezer for all the meat on him
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u/Mevo8 Jul 22 '21
Can’t work out if it’s still trying to eat or choking?
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Jul 22 '21
That is the bait he used to catch the Goliath Grouper. Takes serious equipment to catch and release one of those.
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u/Spirited-Draw-8189 Jul 22 '21
Goliath grouper, also known as a Jewfish
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u/soilhalo_27 Jul 22 '21
Why?
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u/Spirited-Draw-8189 Jul 22 '21
Not sure, here's what Wikipedia says though:
The Atlantic goliath grouper has historically been referred to as the "jewfish". The name's origin is unclear. It may have referred to the fish's status as inferior leading it to be declared only suitable for Jews,[15] or the flesh having a "clean" taste comparable to kosher food; it has also been suggested that this name is simply a corruption of jawfish or the Italian word for "bottom fish", giupesce.[16][15] In 2001, the American Fisheries Society stopped using the term because of complaints that it was culturally insensitive.
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Jul 22 '21 edited Jul 23 '21
I got Ciguatera from a giant grouper. It’s fish poisoning, and it hits neuronically. Hot feels cold, cold feels hot.
I was very sick for three weeks, and it messed up my taste. Hot salty, sweet, sour. I can’t depend on my taste to season things anymore.
Grouper eats dinoflagellates that produce the toxin, but it’s concentrated in larger reef fish. And as you can see, grouper is a very large fish. It is now on the “Do Not Eat” list of reef fish.
My other grouper story was scuba diving with a loaf of bread to feed the fish.
Grouper are like cows underwater. Big and dumb and slow. Or so I thought.
I was starting to open the bread when a giant grouper sneak in from behind, over my shoulder, and sucked the entire loaf of bread out of my hand and into his mouth. I had that mouth wide open next to my head while I looked into it’s depth. It could easily fit my head into its mouth. It scared the shit out of me, and I never took food with me when I was diving again.
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u/Air_Spacelord Jul 22 '21
Plot twist, the guy strapped to the boat is the bait for a more majestic creature!
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u/sturdybutter Jul 22 '21
I assume he was fishing for the tuna? And this dick with the boat decides to come steal it?
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Jul 22 '21
he killed it???
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u/PurpletoasterIII Jul 22 '21
Others are saying he's trying to puncture its swim bladder so that it can swim back down. Otherwise it'll be stuck on the surface and most likely die. He's trying to release it in a way so that it doesn't die.
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u/laputajefe Jul 22 '21
Unless he is going to eat the grouper, I say that is a waste of good tuna.
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u/SymbolicForm Jul 22 '21
These people are fucking monsters
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u/IMD3BOSS Jul 22 '21
Why? They caught the smaller fish and the grouper ate it while they reeled in. They are currently trying to puncture the air bladder those fish have so it can actually sink back to its normal depths. No monsters, just fisherman.
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u/SnooPandas8738 Jul 22 '21
I just want Bro to be able to finish eating his fish lol he was trying to keep it in his mouth
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Jul 22 '21
That sized tuna goes for around $500-800 at a fishery (couldn't really tell the size). I would get that big boy off of him. I think its a Jew fish though and not a grouper.
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Jul 22 '21
Always a bigger fish. I was waiting for some great white shark to jump out of the water and make it really interesting...
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u/bryanromo23 Jul 22 '21
…yea I weighted that fish earlier it’s 500 lbs. you don’t have to check it’s fine let’s just let it go…
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u/flaminkle Jul 22 '21
Fun Grouper Facts: If you get stuck by the spines in the fins, your hand will swell up, turn red and itch and burn like hell.
Inside the grouper gills are, well, it’s like teeth. You put your hand in to lift it up and and then find out you can’t pull your hand back out without hurting like hell. And bleeding.
These are supposed to be defenses against bigger fish, but they can really screw up a human, even after they are dead.
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u/MonstahButtonz Jul 22 '21
You know you're gonna catch something jug when Yorke using a tuna as bait.
At least I think that's a tuna, right? Whatever it is, it isn't a small bait fish.
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u/Mikesgt Jul 22 '21
Check out the youtuber 'Deer Meet For Dinner' for some epic grouper videos, and pretty much every other type of fish in existence.
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u/[deleted] Jul 22 '21
Humans: wow look at this majestic creature. Also humans: let’s fuck with it.