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A fisherman in Virginia landed an 832.6-pound Atlantic bluefin tuna that was certified as a state record, breaking the mark that had been set the day before.
Mike Rogerson of Virginia Beach was fishing with veteran captain David Wright aboard High Hopes on Saturday when he made the catch off the Eastern Shore of Virginia on a mid-morning Ballyhoo bite, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission reported.
The massive catch surpassed the 720-pound bluefin tuna that was caught on the boat of Wright’s friend, Robbie Brown, on Friday.
Rogerson and the crew were trolling in the fog about 10 miles offshore, at the edge of Smith Island, where the water is 48-feet deep, when the huge bluefin tuna hit, according to Outdoor Life and WAVY.com.
“Lo and behold, we had an explosion that looked like an atom bomb going off in the back of the boat,” Wright told WAVY.com.
With Outdoor Life, Wright explained that “it was the most amazing bite I’ve ever had…It was like a whale surfacing. The splash was over 15 feet in the air…It was crazy.”
The fight lasted 90 minutes, and once the crew got the behemoth onboard, they headed for shore to weigh the monster fish. As they traveled in, Wright called his friend Robbie.
Rogerson’s fish measured 108 inches, as did the one caught on Brown’s boat, but this one had an amazing 78-inch girth, according to the Marine Resources Commission.
“I wasn’t about to pop [Robbie’s] balloon,” Wright told Outdoor Life. “He’s a friend. But then I had to ask, ‘Well, do you by chance remember the girth?’ And he said, ‘Oh yeah, 65 inches.’ And I’m thinking to myself, ‘Well, that’s great, but you might not like me after this.”
Also on FTW Outdoors: Tuna sends phone, camera worth $3,000 to bottom of ocean (video)
At the Virginia Beach Fishing Center, the Atlantic bluefin tuna was weighed on a certified scale with the director of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission present as a witness. It didn’t take long for the catch to be certified.
The announcement of the state record was made two days later in a press release.
“It was just a matter of getting lucky,” Wright told WAVY.com.
“Just very grateful, really. You know, in a weird way, it sort of doesn’t even balance the times, though, that we fail.”
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Virginia fisherman catches state-record 832.6-pound bluefin tuna
Continue reading...
Mike Rogerson of Virginia Beach was fishing with veteran captain David Wright aboard High Hopes on Saturday when he made the catch off the Eastern Shore of Virginia on a mid-morning Ballyhoo bite, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission reported.
The massive catch surpassed the 720-pound bluefin tuna that was caught on the boat of Wright’s friend, Robbie Brown, on Friday.
Rogerson and the crew were trolling in the fog about 10 miles offshore, at the edge of Smith Island, where the water is 48-feet deep, when the huge bluefin tuna hit, according to Outdoor Life and WAVY.com.
“Lo and behold, we had an explosion that looked like an atom bomb going off in the back of the boat,” Wright told WAVY.com.
With Outdoor Life, Wright explained that “it was the most amazing bite I’ve ever had…It was like a whale surfacing. The splash was over 15 feet in the air…It was crazy.”
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The fight lasted 90 minutes, and once the crew got the behemoth onboard, they headed for shore to weigh the monster fish. As they traveled in, Wright called his friend Robbie.
Rogerson’s fish measured 108 inches, as did the one caught on Brown’s boat, but this one had an amazing 78-inch girth, according to the Marine Resources Commission.
“I wasn’t about to pop [Robbie’s] balloon,” Wright told Outdoor Life. “He’s a friend. But then I had to ask, ‘Well, do you by chance remember the girth?’ And he said, ‘Oh yeah, 65 inches.’ And I’m thinking to myself, ‘Well, that’s great, but you might not like me after this.”
Also on FTW Outdoors: Tuna sends phone, camera worth $3,000 to bottom of ocean (video)
At the Virginia Beach Fishing Center, the Atlantic bluefin tuna was weighed on a certified scale with the director of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission present as a witness. It didn’t take long for the catch to be certified.
The announcement of the state record was made two days later in a press release.
“It was just a matter of getting lucky,” Wright told WAVY.com.
“Just very grateful, really. You know, in a weird way, it sort of doesn’t even balance the times, though, that we fail.”
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Virginia fisherman catches state-record 832.6-pound bluefin tuna
Continue reading...
