Second day attendance rocks at Fred Hall
Day two at the Fred Hall Show is winding down although there are still a lot of folks walking the aisles and connecting with the folks that get them out on the water and make the tackle that gets them on the fish. If you're coming tomorrow, make sure to show us you Fred Hall iPhone app or SFR iPhone app and get $5 off a shirt, sweatshirt or beanie.

One of the highlights of the day was an award ceremony featuring all the IGFA bigwigs both local and from Florida officially conferring world record status to the 405.2-pound yellowfin caught by Mike Livingston on Mike Lackey's Vagabond.

As big as the show is this year -- and it's big here in the main hall -- it's inevitable that you'll run into people you want to see and the other kind, too.

One of those it's always a pleasure to see is Ralph "the Long Ranger" Mikkelsen, who was hanging out at the Izorline booth. He'll be out on the Excel for his annual trip a little bit early this year, an April departure putting them in a good window to fish some open water. Of course he'll be looking for something bigger than 405.2 pounds. "Someone told me that my big fish got caught," said the man who has caught more 300 pounders than anyone else. "I tell them the new record is just like the 4-minute mile. Once that record got broken, it got broken a lot. I think there are going to be more 400 pounders caught."

Photo caption: Mike Lackey and official IGFA certification of the 405.2-pound record yellowfin caught on the Vagabond.