As we head into the new year, it’s interesting to look back on the year that was. There were several memorable moments in the 2013 fishing year. Guy Yocum of Dana Point was certified by the IGFA for his monster 427 lb. yellowfin tuna, caught off Puerto Vallarta (although the fish was actually caught in September 2012). In the process, Yocum earned a cool million dollars by the Mustad Hooks company for using one of their hooks to make the record catch.
In another memorable moment, Texas angler Jason Johnston visited Southern California and had the catch of his lifetime! This article from Field and Stream documents his memorable day from June 2013.
Earlier this week, Jason Johnston reeled in one of the largest sharks ever caught with a rod-and-reel—a 1,323.5-pound mako that could shatter the 12-year-old International Game Fish Association (IGFA) record of 1,221 pounds. In the few days since he made the catch on June 3, he’s gained both celebrity status—even appearing on CNN’s Piers Morgan Live—and been attacked by animal rights advocates, but so far, he says he wouldn’t change a thing.
Johnston, a resident of Mesquite, Texas, will be the first to tell you he feels more at home in the woods than on the ocean. After a 25-year career in the hunting industry, most of it spent as a big-game guide, the notion of instant fame from a record-setting fish of any kind was completely unexpected.
In fact, when we spoke on the phone, he mentioned that he was sitting outside his hotel, drinking coffee, looking at his picture on the front page of the Los Angeles Times with a Texas-sized grin and a pocketful of quarters, ready to purchase every copy he saw for posterity.
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Photos: Field & Stream
