A Florida woman just landed one catch that will have every angler jealous

Yvonne Norman thought she was heading out for just another day on the water with her brother.

She had no idea she was about to make fishing history.

And a Florida woman just landed one catch that will have every angler jealous.

The Perfect Storm of Fishing Conditions

It was June 16 when Yvonne Norman and her brother Will Van Duyn decided to head offshore from St. Augustine.

Norman, who owns a cleaning service in Lake Asbury, Florida, had been fishing her entire life, but nothing could have prepared her for what was about to happen nine miles out at Nine Mile Reef.

Norman and her brother were well-prepared for their kingfish expedition, with plenty of live bait and their trolling gear ready to go.

The morning proved successful with multiple species hitting their lines.

They caught several kingfish, landed a good-sized dolphin fish, and Van Duyn managed to bring in an impressive 50-pound cobia.

But the ocean had other plans brewing beneath the surface.

When Sharks Turn a Great Day Dangerous

Norman and her brother weren’t alone on the reef that morning.

Massive sharks patrolled the area around their 20-foot center console, including an intimidating 10-foot hammerhead that dwarfed their boat.

The predators proved to be more than just a nuisance – they were actively stealing their catch.

That bull shark would soon play a starring role in what Norman calls “a miracle.”

Around 11 a.m., one of their trolling rods suddenly bent over from a powerful strike. Norman grabbed the rod and found herself connected to something that fought unlike anything she’d experienced before.

The Fight of a Lifetime

The battle lasted about 20 minutes, with the fish making multiple powerful runs into the deep water. Norman initially suspected she’d hooked one of the troublesome sharks, but as the silver shape approached the surface, she realized this was something completely different.

Just as Norman was bringing her mystery fish to the boat, the situation became dangerous. The same bull shark they’d been watching emerged from beneath their vessel, creating a tense standoff between angler, fish, and predator.

The next few minutes tested everyone aboard as Van Duyn attempted to gaff the fish while keeping it away from the shark’s jaws. After several attempts, he successfully landed Norman’s prize before the bull shark could claim it.

A Record-Breaking Revelation

With the shark threat neutralized, the siblings could finally examine their catch. The massive African pompano stretched 44 inches and was clearly something extraordinary. These powerful members of the jack family are known for their fighting ability, but seeing one this size was unprecedented for the experienced anglers.

“Both of us went, ‘what in the heck,’ you know, because the size of it was shocking,” Norman told Action News Jax.

The fish was too big for their boat’s ice chest, so they covered it with towels and ice bags to keep it cool during the run back to shore.

Making It Official

Norman’s first instinct was right – they might have a record breaker on their hands.

After doing a quick search online, they discovered that the current International Game Fish Association 20-pound line world record for African pompano was a 39-pound, 5-ounce fish caught by Karen Hogan near Fort Pierce, Florida in April 1985.

They knew they had to get their catch officially weighed.

They tried weighing it at a tackle shop near the boat ramp, but that shop didn’t have a certified scale. So they took it home first, where Norman’s home scale read 40 pounds – enough to potentially break a record that had stood for nearly four decades.

They then rushed the fish to Beamish Custom Tackle in St. Augustine, where owner Roland Beamis used certified scales to weigh it.

The 44-inch-long African pompano officially weighed 40.08 pounds, with two police officers who happened to be in the shop serving as witnesses to the historic weigh-in.

“I carry 50 pound horse and chicken feed bags at home and I couldn’t hold the fish up,” Norman told The Citizen. “So we both knew she was something amazing.”

A Lifelong Angler’s Dream Come True

Norman has been fishing since she was a little girl with her brothers and father.

She takes pride in her independence on the water and has never been one to hand over her rod to someone else.

“I am guilty of never letting my husband or anyone hold my pole,” she said. “My fish, my pole. They can all confirm.”

Married for 43 years with children and grandchildren, Norman joked about what initially attracted her to her husband: “We married at 18. He had a boat and a sports car. He had me hook, line and sinker.”

Now she’s working to submit the necessary paperwork and documentation to the International Game Fish Association for official recognition of her potential world record.

She used 20-pound test line to catch the African pompano, which would qualify for the women’s 20-pound test line class record.

Faith and Fishing Go Hand in Hand

For Norman, this incredible catch was about more than just breaking records.

Throughout the entire experience, she credits her faith for putting her in the right place at the right time.

“I pray when I’m fishing for something amazing,” Norman said. “And God put us in the right spot, right time, and there she was.”

She also marveled at how everything came together perfectly that day, especially considering her brother’s fishing equipment.

“I pray for good fishing all the time when we’re out on the water,” Norman said. “I think a guiding hand was with us that day because Will’s kingfish trolling rods, reels, and fishing line are 16 years old. I’m glad he takes such good care of his tackle.”

The Miracle Catch

Looking back on that wild morning, Norman knows just how fortunate she was.

Between the aggressive sharks circling their boat and the sheer size of the fish she was fighting on relatively light tackle, everything had to go perfectly for this story to have a happy ending.

“The whole thing was a miracle that I caught the fish and a shark didn’t take it,” she said. “We looked up records for African pompano and realized it might be a record breaker.”

Word of Norman’s catch has already spread throughout the fishing community, from St. Augustine to fishing forums across the country.

Her potential world record is currently under review by the appropriate organizations.

Whether it’s officially recognized or not, Norman’s incredible day on the water is one that every angler dreams about – the perfect combination of skill, determination, faith, and just a little bit of fishing magic.

And for a woman who has spent her entire life casting lines and chasing fish, landing a potential world record while outmaneuvering hungry sharks is the kind of story that legends are made of.