Massive Snook Catches

Heading out of Marina Pez Vela aboard the charter boat Chloe Frijole, North Carolina angler Gabriel Fernandez Tefel was looking for a solid day on the Pacific. What happened, he never could have suspected. A massive snook struck his live bait and took off, screaming drag. Battling the fish on light line, Tefel expertly maneuvered the monster alongside the boat in about 15 minutes. The boat then returned to Marina Pez Vela to be weighed on an IGFA-certified scale, where it officially registered at 23.13 kg (51 lbs.).

On July 1, 2025, angler Roman Dueñas Márquez set a new IGFA All-Tackle World Record by landing a 27.60 kg (60 lbs 13 oz) Pacific white snook (Centropomus viridis). Dueñas Márquez was surfcasting from the beach at Agua Blanca in Todos Santos, Mexico, using a Jansen Tackle mullet lure. He hooked the fish on a heavy-duty setup consisting of a PENN Carnage III rod paired with a PENN Spinfisher VII reel. After landing the monster linesider, Dueñas Márquez transported the fish to Minerva's Baja Tackle in Cabo San Lucas, where it was officially weighed on a certified scale. The IGFA officially approved the catch, cementing it as the premier Pacific white snook record and besting the previous 23.27 kg (51 lbs 5 oz) record set by surfcaster Wesley Brough in 2021.

On September 14, 2004, angler Judy Heidt etched her name into angling history by landing a massive 22.22 kg (49 lbs 0 oz) Atlantic common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) while fishing the legendary Parismina River on the east coast of Costa Rica. Working a white bucktail jig near the river mouth, Heidt hooked into a colossal fish that immediately put her gear to the ultimate test. She skillfully navigated a grueling 25 minute battle in the heavy river current before bringing the giant safely to hand. Her outstanding catch earned the IGFA Women's 10 kg (20 lb) Line Class World Record for the species and remains celebrated as the largest Atlantic snook ever landed by a female angler.

Catching one world record is a great achievement; catching two in two days is another thing entirely. On February 12, 2008, Joan Vandergriff was fishing in Golfito, Costa Rica, when what would be her first IGFA World Record Pacific snook took her bait. After a great fight, the fish was brought to hand: an 8.93 kg (19 lbs 11 oz) Pacific snook, which set the women's 9 kg (20 lb) line class world record, breaking the previous record by nearly 5.44 kg (12 lbs). The very next day, she outdid herself. Vandergriff hooked into a beast of a snook, which, after a tense fight, was finally landed. This fish weighed 14.23 kg (31 lbs 6 oz) and set the women's 4 kg (8 lb) line class record, eclipsing the previous record by nearly 10.43 kg (23 lbs).

On March 14, 2008, angler Betsy Bullard added another major accomplishment to her storied fishing career while targeting snook in the rich, structure-filled waters of Golfito, Costa Rica. Spooled with light 8 kg (16 lb) line, Bullard’s gear was pushed to its absolute limit the moment a massive Pacific snook struck her bait. Landing a powerful snook on light line requires a delicate touch; one sudden surge into the mangrove roots or submerged cover can instantly snap the monofilament. Bullard managed the intense, high-stakes battle with surgical precision, coolly working the fish to the boat. The trophy specimen weighed in at an impressive 16.98 kg (37 lbs 7 oz), earning her an official IGFA World Record in the women's 8 kg (16 lb) line line class category.

On October 18, 1978, angler Gilbert Ponce set a historic benchmark on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, a region legendary for massive tarpon that also produces gigantic Atlantic common snook (Centropomus undecimalis). Ponce was working a bucktail jig at Parismina Ranch, attached to 10 kg (20 lb) test monofilament line spooled on an Ambassadeur baitcasting reel, when he hooked into a true monster. Severely undergunned, Ponce endured a nerve-wracking 45-minute fight in the river currents before bringing the 24.32 kg (53 lbs 10 oz) fish to shore. The catch earned Ponce two distinct IGFA achievements: it secured the men's 10 kg (20 lb) line class world record for Atlantic Snook, and because no larger specimen had ever been caught by IGFA standards, it also captured the prestigious All-Tackle World Record for common snook. Decades later, it remains the largest common snook ever recorded in the IGFA books.

On March 26, 1993, angler Jose Brenes tackled the churning waters where freshwater rivers dump into the Pacific surf at the mouth of the Río Parrita in Costa Rica. Firing artificial lures into the heavy current, Brenes connected with a fish that surged into the foam and almost emptied his spool. Spooled with delicate line on a lightweight setup, he played the monster with masterclass finesse, carefully nursing the drag to keep the line from snapping against the river’s undertow or the fish's sharp gill plates. In just 20 minutes of intense, high-stakes maneuvering, Brenes landed a 25.17 kg (55 lbs 8 oz) Pacific black snook (Centropomus nigrescens). The catch earned him an official IGFA World Record in the men's 6 kg (12 lb) line class category for Pacific Snook, proving what surgical light-tackle finesse can achieve in challenging conditions.

On April 3, 1998, young angler at the time, James Bellavia, landed a 14.74 kg (32 lbs 8 oz) common snook measuring 111.76 cm (44 inches) in length with a girth of 58.42 cm (23 inches) in the St. Lucie River near Stuart, Florida. Bellavia caught the fish using light tackle by casting a Redfish Jig on a Redington rod paired with a Penn 4400 SS spinning reel spooled with 10 lb test Ande monofilament line, requiring precise drag control to avoid line breakage against underwater cover or the sharp gill plates of the fish. The catch earned Bellavia the Male Smallfry Record for Atlantic Snook.

In February 2017, angler Manuel Zambrano Dufau demonstrated that you do not need a high tech center console to catch a world record when he fished Panama’s Río Bayano from a traditional 28 foot wooden dugout canoe. Pitching a 9 inch Spooltek Stretch swimbait on test Spiderwire braid, which officially tested into the 15 kg (30 lb) line class category, Dufau set the hook into a titanic Pacific black snook (Centropomus nigrescens). After a tense 15 minute battle fought directly from the dugout, he boated a 26.56 kg (58 lbs 9 oz) giant. The catch secured Dufau the men's 15 kg (30 lb) line class world record and earned the official IGFA title for the largest snook ever taken on an artificial lure.

The Loxahatchee River in Jupiter, Florida, is known for producing large snook. On July 15, 2024, Charles Boshammer joined in on the fun. Fishing with his father, IGFA Captain Jarad “Dingo” Boshammer, he hooked into what would become a record fish. He was working a Nomad Vertrex lure when the snook slammed his offering. After a spirited fight, he brought the fish to hand. Upon measuring it on an official IGFA measuring device, it measured 100 centimeters, setting the IGFA All-Tackle Length Junior World Record for Atlantic snook. The fish was released to fight another day.

Not to be outdone, IGFA Captain Jarad “Dingo” Boshammer was again fishing the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter, Florida, when he left his mark in the IGFA record books. Captain Boshammer was fly fishing and fed a massive snook, which he landed and subsequently measured on an official IGFA measuring device. The snook measured 98 centimeters, two centimeters shy of his son’s record, enough to set the mark for the All-Tackle Length Fly World Record. The catch came just four days after his son set the All-Tackle Length Junior World Record. The fish was also released safely to fight another day.

On April 23, 1993, Rex Garrett was fishing Chokoloskee Island, Florida, when he had a record setting day. It is no secret that snook are a popular target for fly anglers in the Everglades, and Garrett took full advantage. He was working a streamer fly on a 9.07 kg (20 lb) tippet setup when a massive snook engulfed his offering. When the fight was said and done, he brought the fish to be weighed on an IGFA certified scale, where it registered at 13.72 kg (30 lbs 4 oz). The catch set the men's 10 kg (20 lb) tippet class world record, which still stands today.

The absolute pinnacle of sportfishing snook records belongs to Will Philip Hefley. On May 9, 2026, Will landed a massive 32.88 kg (72 lbs 8 oz) Pacific black snook (Centropomus nigrescens) while fishing out of Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, Costa Rica. The snook struck a live sardine and was boated after an intense fight. Will then returned to Marina Pez Vela, an Official IGFA Weigh Station, for an official weight on a certified scale. This snook is the heaviest snook the IGFA has ever recorded and eclipsed the previous All Tackle Pacific snook record by over 5.89 kg (13 lbs). The remarkable catch earned Hefley two distinct IGFA achievements: it secured the men's 37 kg (80 lb) line class world record for Pacific black snook, and because no larger specimen of any snook species has ever been logged, it also captured the prestigious All Tackle World Record.