Gus slays them in the bahamas

[Spearooo]

Gus Mendoza One of my dive buddies just got back from 10 days in the islands.
He shot this 70+lbs yellow fin on a spearpole while freediving, how bout them apples.
enjoy

[keyspearfisher]

nice

[submerged]

Nice Grouper, good job

[deepdown]

Sweet grouper! Seems like the weather didn't cooperate though...

Did you go out this weekend?

[mushkee]

damn...gus be bagging them groupers....my friend's captain slayed a 45 lber(from team alfin), the past weekend...

[SLAYER]

that actually looks more like a black than anything

[fishhunta]

definate black, nice nonetheless...............

[deepdown]

I think spearooo is right with it being a yellowfin. Notice the yellow edge on the pectoral fin, the markings are different as well, a lot more detailed than a black. Check out the reef fish identification book. But regardless of what it is, definately a nice ass fish

[SLAYER]

blacks do have yellow egdes around there fins and there mouths..a yellow fin groupers fins are really yellow.and the fish are shaped different than blacks when they get that big..and i have never heard of yellow fins that big

[SLAYER]

blacks do have yellow egdes around there fins and there mouths..a yellow fin groupers fins are really yellow.and the fish are shaped different than blacks when they get that big..and i have never heard of yellow fins that big

[deepdown]

Could have sworn that was a yellow fin, but hey I geuss the reef fish identification book could be wrong. The markings threw me of the most, not consistent with any black markings I've seen.... From what I've read, the Florida record is 36#, so they get pretty big... Anybody else that can clarify this???

[fishhunta]

yellowfin grouper look almost red on the surface, kinda like a big hind, blacks from different areas have different markings all the time. Our blacks don't look like blacks from mexico or even the gulf coast.

[keyspearfisher]

What did it look like before you shot it? The Yellow fin has two color phases, when it is in the red phase it is easy to Id. But when it gets bigger it looks more like a Black when dead. The Yellowfin when alive and in black phase looks like a white girraffe with black spots.Just black spots, not like the kiss marks on the Black Grouper They tend to hang in the same habitat often miss IDed. FDS they get over 40 lbs. check out E.J. Barrett's Yellowfin.

[keyspearfisher]

nice smile,
looks alot like the fish in question!

[SLAYER]

i know they get over 40 lbs, but i have never heard of one over 70. also look at the edge of the fins they are more gray then yellow

[deepdown]

So what is it? Yellow or black? I still think spearooo was right, it's a yellowfin, all the research I've done points to it more and more.

[Steel Shootin']

Nice carbo!

[SLAYER]

anyone who has shoot a lot of blacks will tell you its a black..just because it has a yellow mouth and a little yellow on the egde of its fins does not mean its a yellow fin

[Aguaji]

WIthout any doubt, that fish is a black grouper!

End of story.

JC, que bolon tiburon? Confirm the soul on that fish, please.

[keyspearfisher]

What did it look like when it was alive? I have seen some that I swear are half breeds. But this one is to close to tell from the photo. Since it came from the Caribian, I'm leaning toeards Yellowfin.

[Spearooo]

Exactly, I would have guessed black since I have never shot a yellowfin b4 and it looks alot like the blacks we get around Miami but It could be some kind of half breed, Gus said it was a yellow fin and he has shoot plenty of blacks, hes been spearing since he was an infant and knows his fish pretty well. Maybe the amount of time the fish was out of the water had an effect on the coloration or maybe it had a tan, anyhow this is an interesting disscussion Im sure there has to be some other way to tell the two apart other than the yellow in the fins that could be bedated.

The fish was taken in 40 feet while in the entrance to a cave, That shot you see in the gills was the first impact with the slip tip and then it holed up and they stuck it two more times on the other side and then dove down and gave him a good gill thrashing b4 wrestling him to the surface.

[SLAYER]

this is what yellow fins truly look like

[SLAYER]

note that yellow fins always have specals and blacks can have them but gennerally they have those sqare blocks

[SLAYER]

there heads are also shaped differently..note how the head slopes down more than a black

[Spearooo]

The thing looks like it does have a flatter head than a black, We also caugth a half breed, ie a yellowfin without yellow fins that looks like a black but not quite. From the pic they look like blacks but in person they just aren't the same. It probably has something to do with the area and depth in wich they were captured. The awnser is still open for debate but I also think that the yellowfins from the bahamas migth have diffrent coloration than those from the middle grounds.
this subject will require further slaying to fully document the anomeli
the weather has been chit lately but soon....
:D

[Aguaji]

Spearoooo (nice name, NOT). Let me tell you, there is NO such thing as a "mixed" or "half breed" when it comes to blacks or yellowfins. It is just like there is NOT such a thing of bisexual...either you suck Richard or you DON'T suck Richard.

[rigdvr]

Damn....where's that come from? Settle down Beavis. Anybody else have a grouper question b/c it looks like we have a real life expert now:confused: Apparently he is also an expert on homosexuality:eek:

[Spearooo]

Aquafiesta, Aparentemente alquien tiene la mente ocupada en algo que no es la pesca ?
I wasn't there and ain't able to id the fish anyhow so this certainly isn't the final word. All I know is that knothing says the half breed or sun tan theory aren't valid and till we get some more meaningful contribution the debate is far from over.
HAs anyone hear of such a thing. these fish seem pretty similar other than the brigthness of the fin coloration. I have heard yellowfins are the most likely to give siquatera and that the root of the scientific name has something to do with this.
Id like to hear from some other members before making up my mind
:cool:

[Rolo]

Frankly, I don't know why the big debate. What's more important is that it's a damn big fish. At 70+ pounds on a polespear is pretty impressive...Nice Haul!

I think its a black. My reasoning is mainly because of the weight. The coloring in this case does not seem too important. Yellowfin groupers are generally not that size. I believe the World Record (Fish and Tackle) for the yellowfin is slightly over 40lbs. The world record for the black is over 100lb. Thus, I believe it's a black...That's just my opinion. What's more important is that its a big fish.

Dive safe Little Richards,

[JCACTION]

Blacks have yellow on their fins and mouths sometimes, at least I have seen them this way or blue fins. I personally think it is a black and unfortunately the picture does not show the tail. When in doubt about a black, the tail usually gives it away as they have a distinct black vertical band on the edge of the tail. Yellowfins dont get that big that I know of, I am not a fish ID expert but I don know a black when I see one. This looks like a black not only because of the weight but the body. Yellowfins have a different head and eyes. Like i said when in doubt the tail of a black is unique with the black band on the tail. Maybe he can stand there again and take another pic of the tail for us LOL LOL LOL AGUAJI>>>>>>tiburon!!!!

[Mr Throw Pole]

This is Gus the one that caught this thing. It obviously is not a yellowfin like the one's posted which where probably gulf caught. It's very possible that it was a black, but it did have yellow fins, which were more evident before i blasted him. This pick was taken way after it had been dead. There were very mny similarities between this and a black. I've been catching blacks here in Miami and they don't really look like that, but then again i have never caught one of these groupers here in Miami, i only see them in the bahamas and there every where. Anyway it was a great trip and here are some more picks

[Carcharhinus]

Originally posted by Spearooo
Gus Mendoza One of my dive buddies just got back from 10 days in the islands.
He shot this 70+lbs yellow fin on a spearpole while freediving, how bout them apples.
enjoy
70 pounds? That's a new world record (old Yellowfin record is 34 pounds 6 oz).
I don't think it's a yellowfin.. but without being able to actually get my hands on the fish and count the soft rays in the caudal I wouldn't put any money on its species ID. Don't feel bad on the ID - Here's a quote from Bob Shipp's Guide to Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico.
"All the groupers which scientists place in the genus Mycteroperca are exceedingly similar, and difficult even for the most experienced fishery scientist to identify. Thus it's no surprise that many masquerade under a single common name to fishermen. For example, "black grouper" is supposedly a familiar, abundant, often caught resident of the snapper banks and near shore reefs. But there are at least three species called "black grouper," with the true black grouper probably quite rare in much of the Gulf."
C. leucas

[SLAYER]

i have shot yellowfins and blacks in the bahamas and thats what they look like ..i personally dont think a fish could change shape because its on a different coast or depth

[spearing101]

Originally posted by Aguaji
Spearoooo (nice name, NOT). Let me tell you, there is NO such thing as a "mixed" or "half breed" when it comes to blacks or yellowfins. It is just like there is NOT such a thing of bisexual...either you suck Richard or you DON'T suck Richard.

hi-i;m riChard Cheney. aguaji...nice name.

[Wet Spot]

Blacks off of Louisiana don't look like that! That fish has the markings of a Scamp or Broomtail but without the broomtail. Here's one of our Blacks.

Stan

[Wet Spot]

ooops, try this one...

[reefhunter]

nice fish...... it's a black for sure