This 113-pound grouper set a new record in area spearfishing tournament

When D.J. Strott and Chris Hillen emerged from spearfishing in 165 feet, they told their teammates of Team Hogzilla a big fish was down below.

Strott shot a giant black grouper but had to return to the surface for safety as the fish caused a struggle with the pair on the bottom.

The day had started early for Team Hogzilla. The night before they met up at the captains meeting for the St. Pete Open, a collection of the best spearfishing teams consisting of more than 300 shooters.

Some teams headed offshore that night with nice weather while Team Hogzilla opted to sleep for a few hours before heading off. They pushed off at 3:30 in the morning aboard Hillen’s 39-foot Yellowfin and had their eyes set westward 90-miles into the Gulf of Mexico at the Elbow, a stretch of underwater peaks that is known for big fish, big currents and big sharks. It’s for seasoned divers who want a big reward.

“We readied up for our first dive around 7:45 a.m.,” said Strott, who’s participated in the St. Pete open for more than 20 years. “We were planning seven dives each in pairs of two from 145 to 180-feet. We rotate spots that each one of us seems to know better.”

The first few spots had fish, but not what they were hoping for.

“We were on the full moon and it seemed like a lot of fish were out on the sand and not on the structures. They tend to move around a lot on the moons. We eventually found a 2-mile area with plenty of small fry bait and that’s where the fish were.”

On Strott’s sixth dive of the day, he saw the fish every participant had wanted. A giant black grouper that stayed put on a small ledge. He lined up and took a shot, putting a spear into the head of the fish.

“It took off for the ledge and started really stirring it up. There was a cubera (snapper) in the ledge as well and the two of them made a mess,” Strott recalled. “The grouper worked itself into the ledge and started moving the spear around inside it’s head and I think killed itself, but we couldn’t see so headed to the surface.”

Strott waited an hour for the bottom to settle down and clear. He told his teammates he thought the fish was around 90 pounds. When the hour was up he descended, but a familiar foe made him nervous.

“The water had cleared but I could see a shark swimming around the ledge near the bottom. I had the thought they might have gone in and took the fish, but it didn’t. We got the fish out and the sharks followed us to the surface but kept their distance. In the boat the guys said 110 pounds but I said no way!”

The team bypassed their last dive of the day and headed east to get to the scales early. At the weigh-in Hogzilla watched as previous tournament winner Rob Murphy brought another triple digit black grouper to the scale a few places in front of them. At 102 pounds, it would be the biggest in most tournaments.

Then Strott’s fish hit the scale. It went well into triple digits at 113 pounds, setting a new tournament record.

The fish was gutted, so it could have been close to the 124-pound hook-and-line world record as well.

“That was the first time I believed how big that fish was,” he said. “I think it’s just insane to have a chance to get one like that”