A big tale: 101-pound wahoo breaks 12-year-old record at fishing rodeo

“He was huge,” said one Florida man of the fish

A wahoo fish weighing over 100lbs has smashed a more than decades long record at an annual competition in Destin, Florida, organisers have said.

The record for the biggest wahoo – a type of tropical and subtropical fish – was broken by a father and his two sons on Saturday at the Destin Fishing Rodeo, an annual competition.

Organisers of the rodeo said in a Facebook post: “Rodeo record Wahoo caught today. 101 lbs by angler Derrick Dover on Muscle Memories! Congratulations guys! Great Catch!”

The previous record for a wahoo was set in 2010 by Omar Breiz of Mary Esther, who NWF Daily News reported caught an 98.2lb wahoo aboard the Don’t Hate, captained by Scott Whitehurst.

Speaking in an interview with the local news outlet, Mr Dover said he could not have anticipated the 101lb wahoo he caught on Saturday about 30 miles southwest of Destin.

The man was fishing with his brother and captain Andrew Dover along with their father on board the Muscle Memories.

“We were trying to get some nice groupers, but it was happening,” said Mr Dover to the news site. “We were in the same area. ... It took off and just kept going. I thought, ‘Oh this is a big one’”

Mr Dover said he thought the fish would get away but managed to reel the 101lb beast in, which he managed to get a glimpse of underneath the motor of his boat.

“He was down deep under the motor,” said the fisherman. “He was huge...After dad stuck the gaff in him, he was done.”

The family trio eventually managed to get the fish onboard their boat before taking it back to shore to be weighed in Destin, which has hosted 74 additions of the rodeo.

Pictures shared to social media by the competition’s organisers should the size of the wahoo which was longer than Mr Dover is tall.

The wahoo was not the only big catch at the rodeo after a grouper fish weighing more than 300lbs was caught on Sunday, requiring five people to bring the fish onboard a boat, social media posts said.

That did not break a record however, reports said.