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What a catch: 347 lb. Warsaw Grouper caught

Posted at 4:58 PM, May 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-24 09:59:10-04

A 347-pound Warsaw Grouper was caught off the coast of Bradenton in the Gulf of Mexico during a fishing tournament.

Captain Paul Christie and his team, Jumbo Shrimp, took home the top prize of $10,000. 

Christie's brother-in-law, Tony Panipinto, sent the reel more than 600 feet into the gulf. 

"I didn't drop a huge bait down," he said, "it was just an average."

Panipinto stopped there before giving away any of their secrets.

"I can't tell you what it was," Panipinto said. "But everything was nibbling, and then I felt the big fish eat it."

The competition was part of Bradenton's Crosthwait Memorial Fishing Tournament that started on May 13. Since then, the fish has been gaining more shares on social media. It took five fisherman on the boat to reel in the monster of a fish through the tuna door. 

The fish was weighed in last Sunday at the Bradenton Yacht Club where it was caught on video being pulled up by a crane.

Jumbo Shrimp took away $10,000, and this was their second year taking home top prize.