Pensacola fisherman hooks, releases rare 6-foot, 200-pound goliath grouper on Pensacola Beach

On Wednesday afternoon, David defeated Goliath once again. This time on the emerald waters of Pensacola Beach.

A lifelong fisherman and Pensacola resident David Miller thought he had a shark on his line while fishing on his friend's boat around 3 p.m. Wednesday and a mile off Pensacola Beach, but it turned out he had a bite from something even more rare.

"Besides a shark, it was probably the biggest fish I've ever caught," Miller said of the goliath grouper he hooked. "It was fighting pretty hard but just really slow and steady. We eventually got to the surface and realized what it was. When it saw the boat it took off for another big run, then it was pretty done after that."

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Miller, a charter captain, said it took five minutes to catch what he estimated to be a 6-foot, 200-pound goliath grouper, a fish that has been protected from harvest and possession since 1990 both federally and by the state of Florida.

Goliath groupers can sometimes grow up to 8-feet long and weigh up to 800 pounds.

Photographs are allowed to be snapped during the active act of release of a giant grouper, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and that's precisely what Miller did.

Even if the goliath's prohibition was lifted, which the FWC briefly considered in 2017 when research showed their population had increased, Miller said it probably wasn't worth eating.

"They probably wouldn't taste too good at that size," Miller said.

It actually may have been a positive thing that fate brought Miller and that grouper together Wednesday. Besides removing his own hook, Miller said he detached three other hooks from the goliath's body before setting it free.

Though their population has risen in recent years, goliath grouper catches are far and few between for most Northwest Florida fishermen. It's certainly the first one Miller's ever hooked.

"It's really rare, between all the most well-known fishermen here I've only heard of, like, five being caught," Miller said. "And that's in the last 20 years or so."

Jake Newby can be reached at jnewby@pnj.com or 850-435-8538.