A 676-pound bluefin tuna gave 16 anglers and the five-person crew of the Dolphin Express charter fishing boat a fight they will never forget, during a two-hour tug-of-war on March 24th.
Captain Tim Oestreich of the charter boat said the bait was only in the water for 10 minutes before the bluefin bit, taking 800 yards of line with it. The captain tried to keep the fish moving to tire it out and the boat followed the running tuna for about 2.5 miles.
“When one angler was done, I would call for ‘fresh meat on the reel,’” he told Sport Fishing.
In the end, the fish was reeled to the boat but took off again, snapping the rod in two. Oestreich then grabbed what was left of the rod and pulled the fish in by hand for 40 feet and it took 8 guys to lift the fish out of the water and into the boat.
The “Texas Safari” was a 56-hour long trip and in addition to the massive bluefin tuna, the anglers also caught three yellowtail tuna each and 11 wahoo fish.
Giant Bluefin Tuna Breaks Rod in Half During Two-Hour Fight https://t.co/uDVZjNTcuf
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good on Captain Tim Oestreich and his crew !!
.— Tom Poindexter (@tom_poindexter) March 30, 2023
Dolphin Docks Deep Sea Fishing said in a Facebook post, “Great job anglers.”
“When my arm recovers, I’d love to go again….. soon as I find a bigger freezer,” wrote one user on Facebook.
The Bluefin tuna is a large species of tuna found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. They can grow up to 8 feet in length and weigh up to 1,500 pounds. Bluefin tuna can live up to 40 years, and their meat is highly prized for sushi and sashimi. They are a highly migratory species and can swim up to 40 miles per hour.
Bluefin tuna is considered to be a vulnerable species due to overfishing. Regulations have been put in place to protect the species, including quotas and closures in various areas.
