Four men display a 355-pound jewfish -- a type of grouper -- on a St. Petersburg pier. It is unclear where this impressive lunker was caught, but other contemporary photos show fish of similar size that were landed on city piers. (A Times editor, perhaps overcome by civic boosterism, boasted around the turn of the century, “Spanish mackerel ... are caught by the hundreds daily.”) This catch apparently was newsworthy in its day, but a 355-pounder probably wouldn’t even make the sports section now. The world record for a jewfish? A 680-pounder caught in 1961 in Fernandina Beach. • A FISH STORY • TIMES ARCHIVES

© Copyright 1999 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.