By Pete Thomas
An angler fishing off the Baja California city of Loreto has landed a 430-pound yellowfin tuna that might have become a world record if he had followed proper procedure.
Robert Ross caught the massive fish on a trip out of the remote Pisces Collection Lodge, on the Sea of Cortez near Loreto. The lodge is not yet open and does not have a certified scale, or cold storage.
Ross told Pisces Sportfishing general manager Tracy Ehrenberg that he had little choice but to fillet the tuna after weighing it on a butcher's scale at a nearby ranch.
“Once they told me the weight I told them, 'You just cut up your world record,' ” Ehrenberg, whose business is in Cabo San Lucas, said via email.
The International Game Fish Assn. lists as the all-tackle world record a 427-pound yellowfin tuna caught off Cabo San Lucas in 2012.
Ehrenberg said Ross told her, “I kind of thought that it might be a record. It’s the biggest tuna I’ve caught, but what were we going to do with it? It’s important but not the most important for me to get a record. Next time I will call you before cutting it up.”
According to the Pisces Facebook page, the tuna was hooked on a chunk bait and landed standup-style, from a Boston Whaler, after a 2-hour fight on 60-pound test line.
–Photos of 430-pound yellowfin tuna landed by Robert Ross (pictured at right) are courtesy of Pisces Sportfishing
–Editor's note: This catch was originally reported to have occurred off Cabo San Lucas
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