Anglers catch tuna so big it hangs off boat. Will it shatter Florida’s state record?
It’s a fisherman’s hope to come back with a good catch for the day.
It’s a dream to return with a “monster” fish that weighs more than an adult grizzly bear.
A team of anglers on a boat called No Name made a name for themselves after catching the massive bluefin tuna off the coast of Destin, Florida.
The fish weighed 832.2 pounds, according to the HarborWalk Marina, which called it a “monster” on Facebook.
It took the group 4 1/2 hours to reel in their catch.
The group of anglers included Capt. Jake Matney, Devin Sarver and Jett Tolbert, WEAR reported. Matney’s family was on the boat, too. The group was on a marlin trip since April 15 and caught the giant tuna on April 16 after traveling more than 160 miles, according to the outlet.
The tuna might shatter the state record once it is certified, according to Get The Coast.
The current state record was established after a team of anglers on the boat You Never Know reeled in a tuna that weighed 826 pounds in 2017, USA Today reported.
“Words cannot express how grateful I am. What happened to us, the ups and the downs of this battle make for a great story with great people,” Sarver wrote on Facebook. “This is what dreams are made of. I’ve never had so much respect for a fish.”
Video of the team hauling the fish in shows the head of the massive tuna hanging off the back of the boat.
“Fishing has always been a way of life for my family and something that we love to do together,” Matney told WEAR. “I’m very fortunate to have them on the boat for this and to have this caliber of fisherman on my team.”
The world record for the largest bluefin tuna caught was set in 1979 in Nova Scotia, Canada. The fish weighed 1,496 pounds, according to the International Game Fish Association.
Destin is about 150 miles west of Tallahassee.
This story was originally published April 19, 2022 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Anglers catch tuna so big it hangs off boat. Will it shatter Florida’s state record?."
