St. Pete fisherman catches Goliath grouper in Gulf

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An ordinary fishing trip between two buddies turned into an unforgettable moment, which went viral.

Ryan Hein was fishing in the Gulf of Mexico off the shores of St. Petersburg when he reeled in his prized catch - a 400 pound goliath grouper - with a unique tool, a wrench.

Hein is a mechanic by trade, so he always has handy tools on the boat.

"I'm always trying to find ways to save money and repurpose items," he said.

He caught the goliath grouper within minutes of dipping his wrench in the water.

"It took all of us to catch it, so they were just as excited as me, and they knew it was the wrench," he said.

It wasn't an easy feat for Hein to reel in the monster.

"It was as long as me, I mean, I couldn't really get my arms around it, although I wasn't really trying to hug it. Its spines were bigger than pencils on its back, like, they were very large," he said.

By law, Hein was required to let the goliath grouper go; it's classified as a restricted species. He said he wasn't allowed to take it out of the water. 

Of course he's always thinking of ways he can improve for his next trip.

"Keep trying more things outside the box like forks and spoons, but I can admit, it's going to be hard to top this. This was amazing," he said.

A camera is the only way a fisherman can prove they got the big catch, which Hein will have for the rest of his life.