Angler prevails in epic battle with 805-pound bluefin tuna

The giant bluefin tuna that rose to inspect the bait was so large and round that it "looked like a car had been dropped from a helicopter," recalled Capt. Ned Ashby, to the North Carolina Sportsman.

It might as well have been a car, as far as Corey Schultz was concerned. Fishing last Saturday aboard Ashby's vessel beyond North Carolina's Oregon Inlet, Schultz spent 2 1/2 hours in a dramatic struggle before landing the 805-pound 8-ounce tuna.

On Thursday the catch was certified as a new North Carolina record, eclipsing the previous record by about 60 pounds.

It pales compared to the International Game Fish Assn.'s all-tackle world record, a 1,496-pound specimen reeled in off Nova Scotia in 1979. But Schultz's catch still ranks among the heaviest bluefin tuna to be landed by recreational anglers in the North Atlantic.

"It was just a huge explosion of water," he said of the initial strike, in an interview Friday morning. "The rod was just folded over. It was all I could do just to keep the rod tip out of the water."

Bluefin tuna are among the most powerful game fish on the planet. Schultz's quarry took the bait, a ballyhoo, at about 2 p.m. as the group fished 40 miles from shore. The angler used heavy tackle, a Shimano 80-wide reel spooled with 130-pound-test monofilament.

But that did not seem to matter; the bluefin stripped 1,000 yards from the reel in a sprint for freedom, and would easily have taken all the line had Ashby not been backing his boat, the Sea Breeze, in the direction of the fleeing fish.

Ashby spent almost the entire fight in reverse; he backed up a distance of seven miles before the fish became as weary as Schultz seemed to become. As Ashby drove in reverse, waves continuously broke over the transom, soaking the angler throughout the fight. That might have been a relief, because he was sweating, but the saltwater burned his eyes.

"With that and the line making so much noise, I was worried something would happen and I would lose the fish," Schultz told the North Carolina Sportsman. "Thankfully [the] knots and rigging held just fine, and I had enough energy to outlast it."

Several gaffs broke during the process of trying to get the tuna onto the swim-step and through the transom door. Ropes were tied through its jaw and around the tail and after about 30 minutes, the struggle was finally over.

"Once it was finally in the cockpit, we began to breathe again," Ashby said. "At this point we finally realized the size of this fish."

The North Atlantic bluefin fishery is strictly regulated. Vessels permitted to participate in the recreational fishery are allowed daily catches of smaller fish but only one bluefin 73 inches or larger per year.

Schultz's catch measured 112 inches and had a 76-inch girth. Because he submitted the catch as a state record, he could not sell the prized sashimi-quality meat, so he kept some and gave the rest to friends.

"It was an unforgettable experience, that's for sure," he said.

-- Pete Thomas

-- Images show angler Corey Schultz (tan jacket) with friends around his 805.5-pound bluefin tuna (top) and during the late-afternoon struggle. Courtesy of Schultz

Twitter: @Pete_Thomas

Comments

[steve dave]

That's at least 10 cans of chunky light!