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405lb yellowfin

2K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  Indaswamp 
#1 ·
There was spirited celebration on the San Diego waterfront Monday morning after the vessel Vagabond returned from a long-range fishing trip into Mexican waters and offloaded the heaviest yellowfin tuna ever caught by an angler.

The behemoth, landed by Mike Livingston of Sunland, Calif., weighed 405.2 pounds; it's girth was 61 inches and it measured nearly 86 inches from nose to tail.

The catch, made on 100-pound-test line after nearly a three-hour fight, will be submitted to the International Game Fish Assn. for approval as an all-tackle world record. Capt. Mike Lackey said IGFA rules were followed so the catch likely will replace the current record, a 388-pound 12-ounce specimen, which has stood since 1977.

The only known previous catch of a yellowfin heavier than Weisenhutter's was a 399-pound specimen caught in 1992 aboard the Polaris Supreme. But because more than one angler handled the rod the catch did not qualify as an IGFA record.
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/22650/anglers+405-pound+yellowfin+tuna+is+heaviest+on+record/
 
#4 ·
I know what you mean, my biggest fish was a 60lb halibut. That was on was of those broom handle rods with a big reel. I've caught some other fish over 10lbs, on lighter gear, and I can't imagine catching something that big. Fish that are tuna shaped and with forked tales fight incredibly hard. I just can't imagine it.
 
#6 ·
aggiechiro said:
it would be a heck of an experience, and i'd sure do it once, but i just don't think i'm that mad at them to fight a fish that big by myself on a regular basis. a bull red is plenty big and fun for me.
Even if a fish that big decided to come into the bay, the gear I fish with is too light to even think of landing it. We get big groupers on all the time but rarely land them. Just can't do it with 40lb test line. They typically strip out drag, and even if you chase them with the boat they go hide in a coral head and break you off.

A buddy of mine landed a 32 lb tarpon on 20lb test. Talk about a battle, but it still only lasted 30-40 minutes. It wears me out just thinking of fighting a fish any longer than that.
 
#9 ·
Indaswamp said:
nope....they only pay that kinda money for BLUE fin tuna
I thought they prefer bluefin due to availability. They get bigger and there's enough of them to sustain the market (for now anyway). I thought yellerfins have a more firm meat and thus are prefered just not practical. Perhaps I have been misinformed. In which case I would buy a large chest freezer and eat the whole thing myself.
 
#10 ·
Bill Herian said:
Indaswamp said:
nope....they only pay that kinda money for BLUE fin tuna
I thought they prefer bluefin due to availability. They get bigger and there's enough of them to sustain the market (for now anyway). I thought yellerfins have a more firm meat and thus are prefered just not practical. Perhaps I have been misinformed. In which case I would buy a large chest freezer and eat the whole thing myself.
bluefin is the prized fish which brings the big $$. Blue fin tuna can get up to 1500 lbs. It's the belly meat that is prized for sushi. There is a company that has successfully farm raised bluefins in the open ocean...this will begin to take the pressure off of wild caught stocks. The yellowfin is a much lower grade for sushi. not nearly as prized as bluefin. :thumbsup:
 
#11 ·
Indaswamp said:
bluefin is the prized fish which brings the big $$. Blue fin tuna can get up to 1500 lbs. It's the belly meat that is prized for sushi. There is a company that has successfully farm raised bluefins in the open ocean...this will begin to take the pressure off of wild caught stocks. The yellowfin is a much lower grade for sushi. not nearly as prized as bluefin.
Interesting. Thanks for the tuna lesson! :thumbsup:

My question now is: Does this farm raised tuna fetch the pretty penny that selective consumers are paying for high grade, wild fish? Is it being warmly received in a discriminating Asian market? I'm guessing if it isn't, it will have to be eventually, when its the only practical option.
 
#12 ·
Bill Herian said:
Indaswamp said:
bluefin is the prized fish which brings the big $$. Blue fin tuna can get up to 1500 lbs. It's the belly meat that is prized for sushi. There is a company that has successfully farm raised bluefins in the open ocean...this will begin to take the pressure off of wild caught stocks. The yellowfin is a much lower grade for sushi. not nearly as prized as bluefin.
Interesting. Thanks for the tuna lesson! :thumbsup:

My question now is: Does this farm raised tuna fetch the pretty penny that selective consumers are paying for high grade, wild fish? Is it being warmly received in a discriminating Asian market? I'm guessing if it isn't, it will have to be eventually, when its the only practical option.
I learned all this from a National Geographic show on bluefin...or maybe it was on dicovery channel?? :huh: - anyways...the tuna are caught off the coast of australia in huge nets. then the nets are towed in closer to shore in a bay off the coast. then certain specimens are selected for breeding. these individuals are removed from the nets and taken to a huge tank on shore where every possible variable is controlled down to exact ppms in the water to duplicate the conditions that induce breeding behavior in the fish. Even the lighting is special and manipulated...the fry are filtered into special tanks and eventually moved out to sea in huge nets to grow. when the fish reach a certain age-they are towed to the Mediterranean sea and the change in the water along the trip duplicates the natural journey they would make if they were not captive. the diet is manipulated to mimic what they would naturally eat. the fish are left in the Mediterranean sea for a while to fatten up the belly meat-this is what makes it prized for sushi. They say that one can not tell the difference...but I would not know...
 
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