Pennsylvania man sets bow fishing world record after bagging 7ft, 222.5lb butterfly ray

This weapon son looks prehistoric.

According Field and flowa Camp Hill, Pennsylvania man was on a charter bowfishing trip to Delaware Bay last month.

Little did he know, however, that the trip would end up being a life-changing experience.

Jeremy Gipe dated the Delaware-based Brossman Boys Bowfishing on June 30 and hoped it would lead to something big, given that the Brossman Boys are fishing legends on the East Coast, holding a number of different states and worlds. records for different ray species.

Stingray hunting is very popular in Delaware Bay as it has a ton of cownose rays and southern stingrays in late spring and early summer. But as it starts to warm up in July, we’re starting to see more butterfly rays, as the species are typically found in warm oceans around the world.

Although these creatures are massive, they have no stinger and are not harmful to humans, as they have no spines.

Gipe and the Brossman Boys located a butterfly ray treading the surface of the water around 11:30 p.m., and curiously thought the ray was small from what they could see.

He told the outlet:

“I happened to see a bright flash out of the corner of my eye that I thought was a blue fish. Then I saw the triangular shape of the butterfly ray. Honestly, I thought it was the one of the 130-140 lbs we had caught before.

So, Gipe took his hit with his bow, shooting him right in the head with a free kick:

“When you shoot them in the head, for some reason they jump out of the water. This one came out 4 or 5 inches out of the water. The other two gentlemen on the boat were then able to put arrows in the beam. He traveled about 60 yards before turning around and returning to the boat.

However, this was no ordinary small butterfly ray. It ended up being the hit of a lifetime:

“I actually felt nauseous. I couldn’t believe it when I realized how big it was.

They took the stingray out of the water, put it on ice and weighed it the next morning. That’s when they realized they might have a record in their hands.

It was seven feet, 4-1/8 inches long and weighed 222.54 pounds, surpassing the current Bowfishing Association of America world record of 222.1 pounds, held by Nick Sampson in 2021.

I would say that’s quite a surprise.

Look at the size of this thing…