Local angler catches ‘testicle-eating fish’ in Phillippi Creek

SARASOTA – A local angler has quite the fish tale to tell. He says he recently caught a pacu on the Suncoast — a member of the piranha family with a very unsettling reputation. The name of Tom Rigby's boat is Asleep at the Reel. About a month ago, Rigby was fishing Phillippi Creek with a shrimp and was wide awake when his line took off.

“I had the drag set pretty tight, and it's running with it. My first thought was a jack because they fight like crazy.”

After a long fight, he brought the fish aboard the boat. “I got out my fish ID chart and go through all of the species. I can’t see anything that looks like the species.”

He snapped a quick photo of the fish and released it back into the water.