New Lionfish Record Shatters Old Record

Congratulations to Robert Straney from Port Canaveral, Florida for having the new lionfishhunter.com world record lionfish. This fish measured in at 19 inches in length. Here is his story:

It was Monday, January 31, 2011, my first dive trip of the year. My dive buddies and I decided to head out of Port Canaveral Florida, our home port, in search of lobster and whatever legal fish we could find. It was my 3rd dive of the day and I needed two more lobster to complete my 6 lobster limit. They are kinda sparse this time of year and each dive can be hit or miss. I was cruising along in about 80 foot of water, south of Pelican Flats, when I saw this Lion fish nosed into a v-shaped crevice. First let me say, I have never killed a lionfish, I am far from being an authority on them, and clueless as to what qualifies as a "Big One". I just learned they are a nuisance fish and as divers we are expected to "kill them on site". So I decided what the heck, I've got plenty of air, guess I'll whack one of these things. Luckily, he was somewhat rocked up, allowing for an easy kill shot to the head with my pole spear. After a few shakes back and forth, he was done. He floated out and up to the surface where one of my dive buddies recovered him for me. He only retrieved it because he know's a little bit about them and thought it could be a record. When I got him home, he measured right at 19 inches. Fortunately, the shot to the head didn't completely penetrate the fish but was enough to kill him and leave him almost perfectly intact. I've contacted a local taxidermist and plan to have him mounted along with another smaller one a buddy of mine shot on the same day.

The challenge is still open to beat Robert's record. KEEP HUNTING LIONFISH