Wicked Tuna Circa 2008

The National Geographic Channel's show, Wicked Tuna, has become one of my favorite things to watch.  While I'm not a big fan of any of the pseudo reality garbage shows out there, this one has reeled me in.  There seems to be a buzz around the web fishing communities about it, so I thought I'd go into my archives to tell the story of my own Bluefin Tuna catch.  The trip was arranged by my brother back in 2008, as a bachelor party gift.  The following is an account of the catch, shortly after returning home;

Not as big as the fish on Wicked Tuna, but it is the largest fish I have ever caught at 130 pounds!

 

August 2, 2008, Atlantic City, NJ-
Weather started pretty bad with a storm that seemed to want to follow the boat. Eventually, we managed to get clear of it and started fishing about 35 miles off the coast. About an hour in, we got hooked up on a big fish. I have never seen such controlled chaos and excitement! As I positioned myself in the chair I was preparing for what I knew would be a challenge but had no idea just how big of a challenge it would be! The fight itself began really easy at first... (fish is swimming along with us). The line was coming in very easy and I either caught it up to the reel or it made a run - all I know is when I suddenly 'felt' the fish it felt like we had snagged into a submarine. I never felt something so strong in my life. Of course the fish hit on the line that was out 300 yards and I have to admit I was exhausted after the first 5 minutes. Little did I know I would be going on adrenaline for another 28 minutes. The fish made 2 major runs and it was nothing short of painful getting it back in each time. My forearms were burning bad and every muscle in my body was cursing me. The site of the leader was a thing of beauty, unfortunately I would see it come and go a few times. The crew & my brother kept shouting encouraging comments to keep me going... several times I wondered if I truly had it in me to get this fish in. I never once in my life dreamed I could encounter a fish that physically challenged me like this. I did in fact stick with it, and the fish never really gave up either. I would say it was more of just reeling like crazy until my heart felt like it was going to pound right out of my chest and then controlling the fish enough when it was close to the boat to allow the crew to try to gaff it. After a few failed attempts with the still spirited fish, the first mate Ed was able to get the gaff secure into it. He and another crew member Gene, as well as my brother, then combined to pull it up into the boat.  I was so relieved to see the fish in the boat as I honestly didn't know if I would have physically been able to continue to fight it.  Even though I was completely exhausted, it was exhilarating catching such a big fish and I just ran around the boat giving "high-fives" (even though I couldn't feel my hands to know if they actually were hitting them).  It was a treasured fishing memory I will never forget.

The author, Captain and brother, with the catch back at the Trump Hotel Casino & Marina