Hello everyone, today is not to "blindly live", but to share what really happened to me - more than a year ago, because of a soak of urine, I rubbed shoulders with the world record.
Don't lie to you.
1
My name is Chen Tao, I am a sea fishing enthusiast, and before the outbreak of the epidemic in 2020, I spent 200 days a year at sea to unlock a variety of fish achievements.
The most obvious difference between sea fish and river fish is that sea fish are special, don't, big! Therefore, all sea anglers, including me, have a common direction of effort: big, bigger, and bigger!
If there is a size, there will be a record.
Just like where there are people, there are rivers and lakes.
The "ally" of the sea fishing is an organization called "IGFA" - the International Fishing Association. (hereinafter referred to as the International Fishing Association), whose main hall is located in Miami, USA, all records of sea fishing are "necessary" and "only" born through it.
IGFA official website
It's no easy task to get on the IGFA's record list. No, that's too light to say.
It is comparable to ascending to the heavens.
2
IGFA is extremely strict about the birth of the world record, and the details are complicated and redundant, just like the ancient royal palace meal process, and some regulations even reach the point of inhumanity, which makes people feel overwhelmed.
For example, you can feel it as you please:
One day when the wind is beautiful, you bring a large rod and a variety of bait, match the fishing group, sit on your beloved yacht, and hum a little song towards the fishing ground.
When you get to the place, you find a lot of tuna nearby, so you're ready to try your luck.
stop.
At this step, you may have been wrong because the IGFA stipulates that the birth of the world record must be in a non-farmed environment.
In some countries, the offshore aquaculture industry is developed, the area is active and wide, the boat is open for half an hour, and it may still be within the boundaries of the farm, so even if you catch an aircraft carrier-level fish, it is also in vain.
In order not to give in vain, you came to the ocean that met the regulations, threw the sinking bait, and it wasn't long before the giant was hooked.
You catch it, the boat over the scale, good ~ home ~ guy, for example, 10,000 pounds, this is a proper break of the world record, so you dragged this fish to the shore, but unfortunately rushed out of a 20,000 pounds of large shark, a bite of your dragged tuna to rob.
When you get to the shore, you and the IGFA staff explain for half a day: Dude, come to Gen Hanako no? Just now I did catch a 10,000-pound tuna, look, half pulled body here, the remaining half let the shark bite away at no one.
Again for free.
Because one of the fine rules of the IGFA is to only accept onshore weighing, and weighing on your own ship does not count.
If your fish is properly pulled ashore, once weighed, it is indeed heavier than the existing IGFA world record, don't rush to open the champagne, you may still give it for free.
Because you're taking the sinking bait. In the IGFA rules, the sunken bait, lua bait, teppan bait, live bait, each has its own rules, and even the thickness of the fishing line and the size of the hook are specified. Your fish is not small, but the rod you use does not meet the rules, and this record is void.
What if, all the tackle and bait are in line with the regulations, the fish is caught from the wild ocean, the shark is not robbed halfway, and it has finally been brought back to the shore after many hardships, and once weighed, it does break the record.
And that's not all, because you have to solve two key problems.
First, how to prove that you "caught" this fish? What if you used an electric winch to anchor up? What if you use large-scale fishing equipment with the blessing of modern technology to bring it online?
Second, how do you prove that it was you, not someone else in the same boat, who caught it?
Therefore, IGFA also stipulates that any record must have at least one full video to prove that you only used fishing gear during the catch, not industrial fishing equipment, and that you caught it yourself. (Photographs before 1996, video after 1996.) ）
It has to be said, rigorous, but annoying.
Rigorously, doing so can make the birth of the record full of authenticity and credibility.
Annoyingly, countless fish that could have broken records were not included in the IGFA because there was no full video recording.
Simply perverted!
But it is precisely because of the perversion that the IGFA world record appears to be full of gold.
And in 2019, I could have set an IGFA world record.
That fish is called the naked fox bonito, and we sea anglers prefer to call it the dog tooth golden gun.
The dog tooth golden gun I caught in November 2019
3
Since 2017, I have been going to Tanzania, Africa, every year.
There is a huge deep-sea fish, a golden gun with dog teeth, which is said to grow up to 300 pounds away, and with a sharp tooth and a huge body, it runs rampant in the sea.
I have been fishing for nearly a decade, running all over the fishing grounds of 61 countries, and the largest golden gun I have caught is only a hundred pounds.
It's like there is a person who loves crucian carp fishing, but has been fishing for several years, and the largest is only 6 pairs.
It felt like it was out of place.
In November 2019, I came to Africa again and found my old African friend, Jon.
He is an IGFA certified captain and the holder of the world record for the Golden Gun of Dog's Tooth. In 2015, Jon caught a 107.5 kg golden gun in Tanzania.
According to the official website of IGFA, Jon is the world record holder for single-player fishing with a golden gun
4
In African fishing, the biggest problem is that fishing boats are unobstructed on the sea, allowing the sun to scorch, suffocating people like steamers, both inside and outside the cabin.
There is no air conditioning, no fan, and the only thing that can bring coolness is the fan in your hand.
The high temperature above 40 ° makes everyone lose their appetite, and every day mineral water and compressed biscuits are dealt with. In order to conquer the planned giant Dogtooth, so that the day of drifting at sea without docking, we need to persist for 5 days.
The first thing we face is the bait problem.
Captain Jon told me that in previous years, more than 100 kilograms of dog tooth golden guns were fished with small yellowfin live bait of about 3 to 6 kilograms, without exception.
Therefore, my task on the first day was to catch these small yellow fins, but after a busy day, the hooked yellow fins were basically more than 20 pounds, which was not attractive to the giant dog teeth, so I could only take pictures and release things.
The next day, when the genius was dark, I climbed out of the cabin and continued to fish for bait fish, but another whole day passed, except for the occasional catch of ghost head knives and the like, I still did not catch 3 to 6 pounds of small yellow fins.
Jon saw my frustration and told me not to waste more time on bait fish and to adopt a new strategy tomorrow.
The next day, three days after our departure, Jon abandoned the live bait and switched to dead bait. He cut the larger yellow fins he caught, cut them into about 6 pounds of fillets, hung them on the hook and threw them into the sea.
Soon there were big fish biting the hooks, and I and the rest of the club were excited for a while, but we were happy too soon.
These fillets are bloody, attracting large numbers of sharks who are extremely sensitive to blood.
Because of the shark's special way of power, resulting in the extremely difficulty of the fishing palm rod, the physical exertion is also greater than that of the fish of the same weight, there is no more than 1 hour, do not think about the shark out of the water, which is tantamount to a kind of torture for the angler.
After fighting sharks all day long, hoping again and again that it was the golden gun with dog teeth pulled out of the water, but again and again I saw the figure of the shark falling out of strength.
Most of the people biting the hook are sharks
The moonlight once again shrouded the sea, and there were only 2 days left, and the air of depression and despair began to fill the ship.
5
On the fourth day, the sharks continued to bite the bait.
Once the tip of the rod is sharply and rapidly up and down and makes a nod-like shake, needless to say, it must be a shark, and the crowd does not even have the patience to gamble, and directly cuts the line.
We're heading back tomorrow, and that night Jon and I have begun to pack up unnecessary items in the cabin to ease the next day's workload.
Is it time to return this year?
At noon on the fifth day, the fishing rod inserted in the stern of the boat suddenly heard a huge sound of line out! And it's unusually stable and persistent, completely different from shark bait!
pregnant!
Without much time to think about it, I rushed forward, suddenly picked up the fishing rod and began to control the fish, years of experience in sea fishing told me that this is definitely a giant, at least more than 80 kilograms!
Perhaps after many days of waiting, the results finally came to fruition, and under the excitement, I couldn't help but roar out loud, and the people on the side seemed to be infected by my joy, and they all looked forward to it, and the excited look was overflowing.
Lift the rod, put it down, shake the wheel quickly... I maneuvered skillfully, and the depression and anxiety of the previous few days were swept away, and only the tight fishing line in front of me remained in my eyes.
Generally speaking, such giants need to be sawn for at least half an hour, and I am ready for a big fight, but what is surprising is that only about a minute later, the pressure on the fishing line suddenly disappeared!
It was like two equal opponents tug-of-war, but one side suddenly released its hand, and the huge inertia made me take several steps back in an instant!
Is it a disconnection?
I continued to shake the wheel and found that there was still a slight falling force, not a decoupling!
There is only one possibility left - the fish has been robbed by sharks.
6
Unlike what many people imagine, the real shark predation is not blindly chasing and fighting, but has a strategy.
Just like a cheetah chasing antelope, instead of catching a healthy and strong, extremely fast antelope, it is better to give priority to the "old, weak, sick and disabled" antelope, so that the probability of success is high.
Sharks, too, rarely hunt down fish that swim at a normal speed and have a high chance of not catching up.
In order to get rid of the hook, the hooked fish will frantically struggle under the water to exert force, and the shark will think that this is a "injured, damaged action" prey, so it will not hesitate to bite forward.
This is the "shark robbery" that all sea anglers hate for a long time, but there is no way to do it.
However, why is it the last day, but it is the most anticipated target dog teeth, but it is such a big one, called me to the stall.
I pulled up with a sense of utter disappointment, and sure enough, it was a huge tuna head, and the rest of it was all gnawed away by the shark!
The fish's head and my heart, together in the dripping blood.
7
It was getting late, the sun was about to disappear above the sealine, and tonight Jon sailed back, and when we woke up in the morning, we should have docked.
It looks like we can only come back next year.
I found a pink Lua rod in the corner of the deck and picked it up to see that there was a small fish hanging from the hook.
I couldn't help it—there were no women on board, who would use a fishing rod of such a color? I'm afraid it's not...
I waved my hand, as if trying to wipe away the thoughts that were not in my head.
"Brother Tao, let's go into the cabin for dinner." My teammate shouted at me from a distance in the cabin.
I have no appetite at all, 5 days at sea, suffered so much, but I can't harvest the target fish, it is too much. Inexplicably irritable, I subconsciously threw a shot into the sea.
Unexpectedly, I threw the rod casually and actually hit the fish.
The tip of the rod began to sink, the fishing line began to fly out, and the beeping sound of the wheels hissed.
I lifted the pole, judging from the feel, not big, up to 5 pounds.
I laughed bitterly, is it not god to comfort us in this boat, sent a fish to add a meal to our dinner.
What kind of fish will it be? Little golden gun? GT？ Mackerel? Or long-eyed?
What about him, don't you know it when you pull it up after 5 minutes?
Just as I was carelessly shaking the wheel, the pole sank violently, with such force that it almost made me get out of my hand!
After a brief shock, anger welled up in my heart: such a small fish, the shark still wants to rob?
Underwater sharks should have been swallowed with bait. Good to be here! I poured all the resentment I had held on this shark for the past few days, and even if I didn't eat dinner, I would catch you!
But gradually I realized from the force at the tip of the rod that this was not a shark, but another dog's tooth! And, no smaller than the noon one! The giant sprinted underwater again and again, and I fought it.
But this contest is extremely unfair to me! Because I'm using a Lua rod, not a sea fishing rod.
Luya rods can generally only catch 20 or 30 pounds of fish, the limit is not more than 100 pounds, and then the weight will break the rod!
What's more, the fishing line of this Luya rod is a 30-pound main line, and it is impossible to withstand the crazy sprint of more than 100 pounds of giants!
This Lua rod is too slim
In a hurry, I had no choice but to release the unloading force, first let this dog tooth out of the line at will, this is 100 meters, and then I carefully closed the unloading force, slowly and hard to withdraw the line a little bit, when the fish again, I dare not slacken off, must immediately open the unloading force, otherwise it will be broken!
This abnormal mermaid saw was extremely physically demanding, and after a while I was sweating and screaming bitterly. Even if you haven't caught a fish, you should be able to appreciate my sad state of mind at that time!
After 40 minutes, I began to doubt my own judgment, is the fish underneath a dog's tooth? Captain Jon also came to me from the wheelhouse, and he and I had the same doubts: even the biggest dog's teeth would not be so strong, and it was time to lose strength. Is it a big shark that is fighting me at this moment?
I don't know, I just know that I'm going to pull this beast up no matter what, after all, this is the last chance.
After 1 hour, I was exhausted and the fish were still alive. I can't remember exactly how many rounds of release the line, but every time I release the unloading force, I will still see the fishing line flying outward at a desperate speed, and each round out is equivalent to my last round of white harvest.
I dare not let go, do not dare to tilt the rod, more afraid of the fragile Luya thin rod broken, can only almost 0 angles to fight with the underwater big fish, the leverage of the fishing rod is completely invalid, strictly speaking, this can no longer be regarded as fishing, should be considered tug-of-war.
After 90 minutes, even the fiercest shark should have come out of the water, but there was no fish shadow on the surface.
I was on the verge of collapse, the world in front of me began to blur, and my legs began to tremble, but the sense of faith that did not know where to go told me that I must hold on! I sat half-back on the pole and called out to the club members to feed me water, while pouring the already hot wheels and continuing to fight the fish.
I couldn't free my hands, and the team helped me water the hot wheels to cool down
The sun was fading, my physical strength was depleted, I couldn't hear my teammates' encouragement to me, I couldn't hear the beep of the fishing line when it came out of the line, and I relied on the instinct of the muscles to circle the line.
Lap after lap, lap after lap.
My physical strength was exhausted and I couldn't stand up at all
After 2 hours, if I used a regular sea fishing rod, I would have already won, but with a slender Luya rod against such a large giant, the multiplying physical exertion made my arms and legs unconscious, and even my body began to soften. Although the fish also showed faint signs of deflation, and maybe after 10 minutes of maneuvering, they could pull out of the water, but I really couldn't hold on for a minute.
Because in addition to being tired, I couldn't hold my urine, and my bladder felt like it was going to explode.
Unable to determine whether it was a shark or a dog's teeth underwater, and in an internal emergency, I had no choice but to call captain Jon and hand him the pole to relay.
If I knew what happened later, I would have pulled the fish up even if I peed my pants.
8
The underwater giant only lasted 20 minutes longer than I did.
The fish broke out of the water, the searchlight hit it, and it was a giant dog's teeth!
The silver monster had its eyes wide open, and its slightly open and closed mouth revealed two rows of sharp teeth.
The whole ship boiled over, the despair of five days was swept away, and everyone laughed and took a group photo excitedly.
And the weighing showed that the giant dog teeth weighed 123 kilograms, 16 kilograms heavier than Jon's world record!
Unfortunately, although my accompanying photographer followed the whole process, I still did not qualify for IGFA records.
Because it has to be single, personally.
A fish fished for 100 minutes, even if 99 minutes is when you are in the palm of your hand, but the last minute is changed, this record is considered invalid.
After all, the full name of the IGFA World Record is "Single Man World Fishing Record".
I could have broken the dog tooth gold gun single world fishing record Chinese identity, but because I didn't hold back the urine, I missed it, and I have to say that it is a big regret in this life.
Well, I am Tao Brother, can fish and talk, if you also like fishing, like food, like the customs and customs of all corners of the world, be sure to pay attention to me! I'll tell you in my article – the world is really big.