North Carolina angler Earl Gill IV was amongst a gaggle of 26 fishermen having fun with a 10-day, long-range fishing journey aboard the “Excel” boat in mid-November. The 124-foot boat run by veteran Captain Justin Fleck is famend for catching oversize tuna, amongst different species, However when Gill hooked an particularly huge, and deep-running tuna whereas “chunk” fishing, the entire crew took discover.
Gill was fishing in 150 ft of water on Nov. 11 when he hooked the fish. He fought the tuna from the boat’s stern utilizing a rail-style rod with an Okuma Makaira 20 lever drag 2-speed reel, spooled with 100-pound-test line. After a dogged and tiring battle that just about took all line from his Okuma reel, Gill labored the tuna to the floor, and it was lastly hauled aboard the Excel.
The boat’s scale stated the fish weighed 448 kilos, which might shatter the IGFA all-tackle report of 417 kilos. Nevertheless, the Excel was solely halfway by way of its scheduled 10-day journey. So, the tuna needed to be refrigerated, which absolutely precipitated it to lose some kilos earlier than it could possibly be formally weighed ashore on licensed scales.
Capt. Fleck posted concerning the catch on the Excel Fb web page because the boat headed again to San Diego.
“There have solely been 4 different yellowfin tuna weighing 400-plus kilos caught on rod and reel,” he wrote. “It’s an incredible achievement. From time to time, we’re astonished by the sheer dimension of a catch, and we’re thrilled for Earl to reel within the fish of a lifetime and might’t wait to see if it units a brand new IGFA report.”
Jason Gross is supervisor for the Excel fishing boat and witnessed the fish weighing on shore.
“On licensed land-based scales, Earl’s yellowfin weighed 443-pounds,” Gross tells Out of doors Life. “It was a particular fish for certain, measuring 84-inches lengthy, with a 66-inch girth.”
Gross says after weighing and measuring, the tuna was taken to a meals processor, as yellowfins are prized desk fare. He says Gill is working by way of normal IGFA paperwork to submit his catch as a report to the Florida-based group.
If licensed by the IGFA, it might crush the present all-tackle report for yellowfin tuna. That fish weighed 427 kilos and was caught off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 2012 by angler Man Yocom. Some questions have been raised about Gill’s catch due to the length of the long-range journey and the sort out used. Gross, nevertheless, says that Gill owns the sort out he used. Additionally, his father (who additionally was on the boat), is a long-time veteran and skilled “Excel” angler.
Captain Jeremiah Sapp, who was a crew member aboard the Excel when Gill caught his tuna, stories that the angler solely used a shoulder harness to battle the yellowfin and never the boat “rail” for leverage. That’s an vital element to ensure that the catch to be IGFA eligible. Utilizing a ship rail for assist would disqualify the catch for IGFA inclusion. A shoulder harness is IGFA accepted.
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It appears probably that Gill’s catch might be accepted by IGFA after the paperwork is scrutinized by the group, which ought to occur quickly. Gill was surprised by catching such a large yellowfin tuna, without having to heat up on smaller ones.
“I feel loads of issues lined as much as assist me land this fish,” he stated.
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