Walter's catch a new world record
BYMARK CLAYBAUGH Special to the News

Courtesy Photo Ed Easton and his new world record Jack Crevalle.

Many times we write fishing articles about fisherman and fisherwomen and the fish that got away. We hear the stories about the snapper that was so big the scales were the size of quarters or the wahoo that was so big we had to saw him in half to get him in the cooler. I am sure that if you search deep down that you have either told such a story or have heard one. For me, I have told them and heard them I can assure you.

Our story starts off with Terri Walter's birthday in which her husband Ed Walter celebrated by taking the entire family to Costa Rica to the Crocodile Bay Lodge. For those that have not heard or do not know, Crocodile Bay Lodge is a world class all inclusive lodge with some of the best fishing the Pacific has to offer which includes a few world records to its credit and one new one.

While in Costa Rica, the Walter family who are no strangers to boating and fishing here on Pensacola Beach took every opportunity to spend time on the water and fishing. And, this is where Easton Walter, Ed and Terri's middle son caught his IFGA Junior Angler World Record Pacific Jack Crevalle.

The current Junior world record has sat on the IGFA record books for some time now was 21.5 lbs. In fact, it too was caught in Costa Rica near the same area as Easton's fish. However, Easton's fish beat the record by more than 3 ½ pounds when his fish was weighed in.

According to Ed, Easton's father, to be official they had to take the lightest recorded weight and it would have been more. Remember the part about the stories?

Easton reported that on August 1, 2007, they were fishing in an area known as the Golfito Dulce on Costa Rica's Pacific Coast. It was a very rainy day with the wind blowing about 10 to 15 Knots and they had been Bill Fishing all morning with no luck. They then decided to try their luck with a little inshore fishing for some roosterfish which are some of the most popular fish to catch inshore.

After moving inshore the family caught a couple Roosterfish which were a lot of fun. Roosterfish are an excellent fight and can get up to a 100 pounds and the biggest caught at the resort is 106 pounds. It is very common to catch Roosterfish in the 25 to 50 pound range and they at least a couple a week there well over 50 pounds.

Easton and the mate, Deiner Varela then decided to switch to some live bait and started trolling a hard tail for about an hour when all of a sudden the drag was ripping out. This is when he hooked the big jack. Not giving up on his big catch Easton fought this fish for 45 minutes before finally bringing the big fish aboard.

Now that might sound like a long time, but the truth is that they call this fish the bulldog of inshore species and it is one of the strongest fish per pound there is. Another attribute that is given to this fish according to Crocodile Bay Resort is that it is as ugly as Cinderella's step sisters and it does not jump. If it did, it would probably be rated right along with many other prized game fish.

Once on board, Captain Oliver Lopez and First Mate knew that this fish was a big one. They immediately brought out the scales and weighed the fish on board to confirm it's weight. Then realizing that they might have a world record on their hands radioed the lodge that they had a possible world record on board.

Keeping in mind, this is not Crocodile Bay's first world record. They knew exactly what needed to be done to ensure it gets into the record books.

Captain Lopez then took them straight back to Crocodile Bay Lodge where there was a truck waiting for them to take the gang to "officially" weigh the fish using a certified scale which was in Puerto Jimenez.

The IGFA requires that for a fish to qualify for a world record that it be weighed using a certified scale. Once there the fish weighed in at an official weight of 11.250 kgs or 24 pounds and 13 oz., beating the previous Junior World Record of 21.5 pounds.

Easton's record is now officially 'Record Pending' with the IGFA as Jack, Pacific Crevalle, M-Junior at 24 lbs., 13 oz. After a verification period the record will be converted to Official World Record.

For a fish to be considered a world record they must be caught according to IGFA rules for Fresh and Salt Water which can be found at http://www.igfa.org/BookRule2 004.pdf. If you are interested in learning more about how to record a world record check out the IFGA website at www.igfa.org.