FishRook
While fishing in the deep waters of Alaska’s Prince William Sound on July 28, charter captain Keith DeGraff landed a shortraker rockfish for the record books. The giant fish unofficially outweighed the current International Game Fish Association (IGFA) world record, and it’s set to become the official Alaska state record as soon as the required paperwork is filed with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADFG).
DeGraff was fishing with his fiancée, Betsey Wilson, and a group of friends when he hooked into the record rockfish at a depth of about 1,000 feet. Despite the amount of line he had out, the fish pulled out drag, leading him to believe he’d hooked a halibut. “I was upset at first,” DeGraff told Field & Stream. “I can catch halibut in shallow water all day. I don’t have to fish 1,000-feet deep to target them like I do with rockfish.”
His disappointment turned to excitement, however, when he finally brought the rockfish to the surface at…
