Oversized shellcracker set world record

[Aug 17]Braden River,FL--A shellcracker landed in the Braden River by Capt. D.C. Bienvenue of Sarasota become new line-classification freshwater fly rod world record.

  Photo:
Shellcracker. Capt. D.C. Bienvenue landed it on a 6-weight fly rod on the Braden River.

  Bienvenue submitted the shellcracker, which allegedly weighed 2 pounds, 1 ounce, and was landed on a 6-weight fly rod and 6-pound tippet almost two weeks ago, to the International Game Fish Association.

   The previous world record for a shellcracker on a 6-pound tippet is 1 pound, 10 ounces by Shawn Taylor on May 16, 2001 in Lake Windsor, Ark.

   Bienvenue, 33, of Suncoast Kayak Fishing Tours, was looking for bass that morning off Jigg's Landing using a custom-made popping cork fly, which included a 2/0 hook. The fly floats on the surface, and Bienvenue basically makes quick strips to pop the fly.
   
   The day Bienvenue caught his potential world record, it was a clear, calm morning, and he was targeting bass. "I was just throwing around the lily pads in shallow water, and I saw it hit," Bienvenue said. "I thought it was a small bass until it blew up on the surface."

   He brought it to Mr. B's Fishin' Hole, where he weighed it. "From what I've seen in pictures, a few of these guys have landed (shellcracker and bluegill) that could've been a Florida or world record," Mr. B's owner Penny Crawford said. "And they ate it."

    Bienvenue also said he has submitted a 12-pound, 3-ounce bass for a Florida line class record on 4-pound test this week.

   He said he landed it in a retention pond behind Home Depot on University Parkway on spinning gear and a Rapala Skitter Walk. The current line class record is 10 pounds, 12 ounces.

    Captain lands above-average shellcracker