Though world records certainly are an exciting aspect of guiding, many spectacular catches are never listed in I.G.F.A. record books. While guiding the late Pete Peacock (a great fisherman and a true gentleman), we were able to compile a list of great catches, such as a 486# Bull Shark on 6# test line. This was the largest ratio of fish weight to line strength in the world. An astounding 81 to 1 catch. Mr. Peacock also has caught the three largest fish ever taken on flyrod: a 365# Bullshark, a 376# Bullshark and a 386# Bullshark, the largest of which still stands as a Met record today. He also has the Met record Warsaw grouper, 162# on 20# test line. This fish was lost the previous day by another angler on a wreck in 260 feet of water. When caught, the previously lost terminal rig was removed and given back to the losing angler. You can still find his name throughout the record books.
In 1986, I began trailing my boat to the famous Cape Cod bluefin tuna grounds
where we began to employ some of the techniques that we use in south Florida.
I felt that "Standup Tackle" gave me a better feel of the fight and
that touch helped me lose fewer fish. With time we altered the equipment and
came up with the ultra short rod butt, which shifted the leverage and enabled
us to consistently take fish of such large proportions. The average weight of
the fish for the first eight years was 764#, including two over 1000#, the largest
of which was 1154#. This is the largest fish ever landed on "standup"
tackle.
Throughout the years I have been able to share with the public some of the great
fishing that we have in the Key West area as well as throughout Florida. Television,
videos, magazines and now the computer are all vehicles that have made this
possible. One time while on an outing with an editor for "Outdoor Life"
magazine, I captured a Broadbill swordfish on the flats of Florida Bay. On another
outing with "The Discovery Channel" TV crew, one of the divers had
the lens of a $100,000 underwater camera housing bit off by a shark while filming
a shark fishing episode. I have also been fortunate to have had a film crew
on board during the winning of several major fishing tournaments, such as "The
Women's World Invitational Tarpon Fly Tournament", twice in "The Texaco
Keys Classic" the latter of which was won both times with Susan Gros, the
only woman to have ever won this event. Rick Murphy (of "Sportsman's Adventures"
fame) and I have made numerous informative and exciting videos on fishing Key
West and the Dry Tortugas for his TV show. In one segment Rick was able to capture
an I.G.F.A. world record barracuda on fly. On another, he just missed the world
record kingfish by ounces. On a two day filming of tarpon fishing with Stu Apte,
we were able to capture three I.G.F.A. World record class tarpon on 12# tippet
fly. The largest was 164#, which stood for many years.
Over the years I have worked with many tackle, boat, and motor manufacturers, where with my technical background in engineering and my practical experience in fishing, we have been able to develop many of the improvements that are a part of the fishing industry today. I will only promote products that I feel are in the best interests of the public and I will not compromise the quality of the fishing of my clients for the promotion of any product. At the present time I can say with all confidence that I am using the finest equipment in the world (see "Capt. Ralph Delph" home page and visit these sites).
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