Friends of ours in Mexico used our small sailboat and our tackle to haul in a five foot barracuda. She (she had roe which our friend scooped out and ate) didn’t try to swallow the lure but struck at it and was hooked through the gill. They hauled it up into the boat which was only 11 feet long and had the two full sized men in it plus having to deal with sail etc. We tried to repeat the event multiple times but failed because the fish would simply bite through the leader. The tackle was a guitar string leader and a piece of white plastic. I am not making this up. We were camping on a beach in Yucatan in the early 70s. No tourists then.
It is a good thing you did not boat and eat it. Ciguatera. Only eat small ‘cuda. They taste like trout.
Ah, Mexico in the 70’s. San Blas was where I wanted to be buried when I died. But since then things have changed.