While wetting his line in the Red Sea this past summer, one Hungarian angler managed to reel in a world record-sized roving coral grouper—a spectacular red-orange specimen dappled with blue spots.
After being submitted and confirmed by the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) last fall, the enormous fish shattered the previous world record which had been set in July.
For 15 minutes, the grouper put up a tremendous struggle before its strength gave out halfway through being reeled in. The boat guide, Mahmoud, eying it as it drew near the boat, announced that it was indeed a world record. Trexler said his “joy was immense” when the monster of a fish finally surfaced.
“When we saw the red body out of the blue water, we didn’t want to believe our eyes,” he told The Epoch Times. “It was immediately apparent from its size that it was not an everyday fish.”
They boated the enormous grouper and weighed it, tipping the scales at 31 pounds, 7 ounces—almost double the current world record at the time of 16 pounds, 12 ounces, which was set on July 14, 2021.
After snapping photos with the breathtaking beast, they released it back into the sea.
That same August day, Trexler also caught a 24-pound roving coral grouper, which would’ve been a record had he not caught the 31-pounder. Few of this relatively rare species of grouper, endemic to the Indo Pacific region, have been submitted to the IGFA; the previous record was, in fact, the first. But for a submission to qualify, according to Field & Stream, it must be at least half the recorded maximum length for the species.
As for Trexler, he admits he’s more of a freshwater fisherman than a saltwater angler. The Hungarian dad enjoys the outdoor activity two to four times a week on the Danube River with his son Bálint. He expressed thanks to his fishing companions for their support that summer’s day for what he called a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
