George Joseph has his name in the record books.

The 7-year-old from Whitefish reeled in a Pacific snook during a fishing trip last spring in Sinaloa, Mexico, that has been officially certified as a world record at 29 inches long and 7.3 pounds.

George was fishing with his father, Josh, in the small fishing village in Southern Sinaloa early in the morning on May 9.

“The large estuary we planned to fish borders the states of Sinaloa and Nayarit,” Josh explained. “It’s a beautiful and very tropical area.”

The father and son met their captain, Victor, and his son, Brian, and boarded their 24-foot Panga-style fishing boat.

“Good people and longtime fisherman in the area,” Josh said.

With a bucket full of live shrimp bait, the plan was to target snapper and snook. The currents were strong, so the fishing rigs were set up to go deep.

Not more than 30 minutes away from the docks, both George and Josh were catching fish — snapper, snook and some jack crevalle.

“Our captain clearly had certain spots in mind,” Josh said, noting that he didn’t use any electronic fish finders, just local knowledge.

After two hours on the water, the captain decided to return to one of the spots they had fished earlier in the morning. Within seconds of releasing their bait, George got a solid strike on his rod.

The first minute was an epic struggle, but he was firmly holding the rod with both hands.

The excitement on the boat, as well as the nerves were high as he worked in the fish.

“His 2 1/2 years of competitive jiu-jitsu and three years of fishing came into play, as he definitely had the never-let-up mentality,” Josh said. “He continued to do his best holding the rod and reeling as the boat drifted.”  

As he reeled the fish close to the boat, the deck hand extended an aluminum net and scooped up the catch.

“A moment the two of us will not forget,” Josh said.

The catch was certified as a world record by the International Game Fish Association following a five-month review process.