Every fisherman loves to tell their tale of the big one that got away but let’s focus on the positives: the big one they brought in. Fishing is a popular pastime among many in the AMHS community and Charleston as a whole. Below are the beloved memories of these anglers’ careers.

Eli Sherman

First up we have Sophomore Eli Sherman with his Cobia catch offshore in Charleston. This was quite the haul with this fish weighing just under 20 pounds and 39 inches long and was caught on light tackle. He spot-casted the Cobia which was swimming behind a shark; he’s lucky the taxman didn’t snag his catch before he could get it on the boat. This was quite the catch for Eli’s first trip offshore.

Grace Gast

Next is Senior Grace Gast who reeled in a fat Snook in Sanibel Island, Florida. These fish are some of the most fun fish to catch and a highly sought after game fish in Florida. The size of this thing makes it all even more impressive. She got real lucky with this one too as this wasn’t even her targeted species as she was shark fishing in a channel running between two sandbars. If you have ever fished for snook you know this is a crazy catch.

Logan Burns

Junior Logan Burns hauled in a pretty solid Black Drum in which he boasts weighs a whopping 45 pounds. It may have felt like that Logan but I don’t know if that sizes up. Logan is gatekeeping his spot as any smart fisherman would. This was caught on some live shrimp or referred to as the “Shrimpington” by Logan. The technique used was pretty simple, just sitting and waiting but says the catch required lots of “faith and grit.” This wish met an unfortunate end when Logan fileted her up and feasted. Look how this fish made Logan smile, beautiful!

Connor Sawall

Next is Connor Sawall’s catch that gained some local notoriety in Jacksonville, Florida by getting featured in the city newspaper. He reeled in a big redfish on “a fishing rod” with no revealing the secrets of his bait or tackle of choice. The fight lasted a long 15 minutes with Sawall having more endurance than the fish and finally getting it in. Good work, young Sawall. 

Wilson Burns

Next is a catch from Wilson Burns that I was there to witness. Wilson and I hadn’t really expected to catch anything and were fishing just for something to do late at night. We had the rods resting up against the dock when all the sudden the drag ran like crazy and we knew we were on. We didn’t even have a net ready to haul it in so Wilson had to fight for close to 10 minutes with the line wrapping around the dock while I looked for a net. We caught it on a frozen shrimp on a Carolina Rig. We went on to hook a couple smaller trout that night. 

Sean Bacon

Next is a prized catch from Sean Bacon. This fish is a bragging right among his family as the rest of his family were hating bottom fishing but Sean proved the doubters wrong. In Squibnocket, Massachusetts (no way that’s a real town name) Sean reeled in a 43 inch striped bass. That’s a hog. Way to prove them wrong, Sean. 

Tyler Heckman

Tyler Heckman captured his catch with a mid-fight photo showing his Tarpon jumping out of the water. This was caught down in the crystal blue water of Marathon, Florida. He was inshore on a boat catching this on a blue crab as bait. With bait as big as that you’re definitely going to hook something decent. A bull shark was following the tarpon as he was reeling it in, attempting to eat his catch. Nice catch and sick picture. 

Daniel Roberts

Next is senior Daniel Roberts flaunting his impressive offshore catch of a bull red. He caught this 8 miles off the coast of Edisto Beach on cut squid and a 3oz weight. Smart to go offshore, you’re likely not finding anything that big inshore. This fish measured up to be over 3 feet long with an unknown weight. This was probably a crazy fight. Good stuff, Daniel. 

The next section of this article will be dedicated to some more questionable submissions that may require some imagination to believe in. I’m not saying these aren’t legitimate but there is a little something off. 

Ellison Ryan

First, we have a beautiful artistic recreation of a “really big” fish from the “big one” species by Ellison Ryan. This fish was caught in Lake Hartwell by Ellison but he was unfortunately able to capture the catch in the moment so he made a drawing instead. I really wish I could see a real picture of this Ellison. 

Lilly Sturm

Next, is Lilly Sturm who says “I spent my life savings to catch this fish.” This is quite the dedication for a catch, I respect it. She caught a Devil’s Hole Pupfish with her bare hands at a whopping size of 0.9 inches and 5 grams; a size that Jeremy Wade of River Monsters would be impressed with. 

Dean McCullough and Garrison Gray

Finally we have the duo of South Flawda anglers and self-proclaimed “jits”, Dean McCullough and Garrison Gray. They hauled in a bunch of Peacock Bass, a native game fish to their home region of the Miami-Dade area. All of these fish were around 15-20 inches long. Garrison notes that Dean hooked one that weighed 9 pounds but was overcome by the sheer size of the fish and was pulled into the water. Too bad about this as Dean would’ve set the Florida state record for Peacock Bass. Better luck next time buddy.