Coastal Angler Magazine | May 2025 | Boston Edition

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BOSTON EDITION

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George K. Regan, Jr. Publisher Boston Edition

Julie Kahn Executive Vice President/ Strategy, Sports & Media

Memorial Day is more than just the unofficial start to summer. While we gather with family, head to the beach, cast a line into our favorite fishing hole, or set out on the water to enjoy the sunshine, it's important to remember why this day exists—and why it matters.

Continued on Boston page 1 PHOTO COURTESY OF TY WIESE VOLUME 30 • ISSUE 362

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F R A N C H I S E

O P P O R T U N I T I E S

A V A I L A B L E

W O R L D W I D E

MAY 2025

SIXTY YEARS OF

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ON !.

Offshore is ON!

M

ay is one of my favorite months for o!shore fishing, as the fishing seasons coincide with good weather. Being spared from the beginning of hurricane season until next month, right now is the most reliable time to get nice weather days to make the trek to deeper waters.

Mahi season has begun to be more consistent, making the trips o!shore more exciting and worthwhile. When making the long drive to the humps for blackfin tuna, or the swordfish ledges, it’s always a plus to know that you have opportunities to catch mahi on the way there and back. Staying alert for weedlines, diving birds and floating debris makes the trip seem like less of a chore, and keeps that fisherman’s optimism alive for more of the venture, knowing you’re still on the hunt nearly the whole way back to the dock.

With the prevalence of mahi, tuna, queen snapper and swordfish in our deepwater fishery, May 1st marks the opening of grouper season here in The Florida Keys, providing additional catching opportunities for both nearshore and o!shore adventures. We also welcome the opening of tilefish this month.

For those with an electric reel setup in their arsenal, this is a great month to get out there and scout for new deep-dropping locations. With snowy grouper and yellowedge grouper found peppered throughout the area, test dropping on new found spots can be a fun addition to mahi fishing. As you run aimlessly o!shore looking for

By Capt. Quinlyn Haddon

signs of dolphinfish, you may notice you run over a ledge or depth variation.

Anything that looks fishy a%er about 500’ could be your next honeyhole.

If this is a new area especially, use a variety of baits on your 5-hook deepdrop rig to ensure your best chances of surveying the location. Squid is always a good choice o!shore, with many species unable to resist its potent aroma, but chunks of fish should be included to entice a grouper bite. With bait sizes matching hook sizes, its a good idea to make your own rigs with di!erent sized hooks if you’re unsure of the species that might be available at a new place.

Affix larger hooks near the bottom of the rig for grouper baits, and smaller hooks near the top with squid for tilefish.

If o!shore isn’t your thing, there are plenty of grouper on the reef and wrecks nearshore this time of year as well. However, a%er releasing these sandwich providers since their closing January 1st, every local fisherman in town will be hitting the wrecks hard for the recaptures now that season is open. Before they face all this pressure from being targeted nearshore, particularly on publicly known wrecks, it’s a good time to put some skin in the nearshore grouper game.

A%er a short closure for the month of April, amberjack has also opened again this month.

These fish are easy to find, and add some nice backbreaking action to the grouper hunt.

Whatever your flavor of fishing is, The Florida Keys has you covered this month. With the anticipated opening of grouper season at the beginning of May, and schools closing for summer break nearing the end, it’s a good idea to get booked for a charter before you arrive on your Keys vacation.

Give us a call at Sweet E’nuf Charters to get tight.

Capt. Quinlyn Haddon guides with Sweet E’Nuf Charters out of Marathon, The Florida Keys.

(504) 920-6342. www.captainquinlyn.com; IG: @captainquinlyn

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The Bigger the Adventure, the Bigger the Blade The perfect knife for your next adventure

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o offense to those nifty little knives that the Swiss pack a kitchen into, but sometimes it takes a big blade to get the job done. That was the case three years ago when I found myself in the jungles of Argentina.

I’d heard a tale about lost Inca gold and was on the hunt for clues. Among other things, the Inca were known for their extensive road system that ran at least 25,000 miles along South America’s eastern side. But the clue I was looking for was down a long-abandoned road overtaken by jungle.

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Upon reaching a stone wall hidden by the jungle, I snapped my knife back into its tooled genuine leather sheath and read the markings the Incas had left long ago. It was time to travel north for the next part of my adventure.

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AFFORD THE EXTRAORDINARY

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By Riley Love

PURSUING MONSTERS IN A SEPARATE REALITY... nly in the dreams of fishermen does this occur. A wondrous gamefish pursued across five countries not only awaits but the biggest, baddest, best of them lay for you in a single place.

The Salminus Brasiliensis is certainly not related to salmon, but is of the order Characiformes which includes many species— notably vampire-fanged payara and modern cinema star piranha in South America and tigerfish in Africa.

Redundantly named the golden dorado (dorado means “golden” in Spanish), it’s immensely powerful, acrobatic—and magnificently beautiful.

The Rio Uruguay (indigenous Guarani interpretation “bird river”), with the northern border of Argentina and southern of Uruguay, sports a massive hydroelectric dam, the “El Salto Grande.” Stunned eels and baitfish flow through the locks in highly oxygenated water to the waiting predators. Permits are required by the dual operators on the Argentinian and Uruguay sides of the river to fish within 1,000 meters from the dam. Fishing is rigidly structured into slots of three hours quartered per weekdays per group of two or three anglers in two boats in this “Zona.” The Argentinians lost their permits recently and our two cra% had the entire area to ourselves. Downstream, twenty other boats floated outside the zone a kilometer away, prohibited from approaching nearer. My inner voice asked, “How o%en does this happen to me?”

There are a lot of places to fish for golden dorado in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. One would note that the world record is a bit cloudy; there is a 70 lb. specimen claimed in 1970 but without a verification or a photo. To reflect on the quality of this fishery, the current IGFA record is just over 55 lbs. and taken at La Zona. Our group landed numerous fish into the mid-40 lb. range, within 80% of the documented record. In contrast, the renowned, luxurious golden dorado destination, Pira Lodge, gets about one fish over 30 lbs. annually.

Fly fishermen do well here. Locals target carp-like boga both for live bait and food. Using large topwater poppers, Rapala style diving minnows and handmade jigs, we hit rocky structure and fastmoving torrents. The dorado were exceedingly sensitive to water levels and flow being released from the dam. When it happened and their buttons were pushed, it was double digit trophies in each time slot.

Multiple hookups were common.

Fishing teaches us lessons about life. Whether love, war or business, if you want success you need multiple opportunities. Even with shoulder- wrenching, reel-screaming strikes and Hank Aaron grade roundhouse hooksets, over half of what seemed like solid hookups would suddenly vanish from the transaction. It’s very much like trying to land large toothy- jawed payara. The modus operandi of these golden hulks revealed that even extra strong hooks were straightened, sometimes pulled from the lures; 65 lb. braid and wire leaders were broken. But some just “Houdinied” away, still waiting for you to come, instead of only dreaming.

Justi Campa of Fly Fishing Patagonia assisted with our planning. Reach them by emailing jcampa@flyfishingpatagonia.com or visit www.flyfishingpatagonia.com.

Riley Love is a physician and author with homes in Kentucky and Key Largo, Fla. He has penned dozens of articles on international sport fishing and a host of screenplays.

He is a member of the International Game Fish Association, The Billfish Foundation and the Outdoor Writers Association of America.

Contact him at 270-816-4423, rjhclove@gmail.com or visit his website: rileylove.com.

Y...

COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

MAY 2025

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George K. Regan, Jr. Publisher Boston Edition

Julie Kahn President, Regan Marketing & Media

Memorial Day; A Solemn Day of Remembrance

Continued from Front Page

At its heart, Memorial Day is a solemn day of remembrance. It's a time to honor and reflect on the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. These individuals gave their lives to protect the freedoms we enjoy every day—the same freedoms that allow us to celebrate, relax, and live as we choose.

The price of freedom has

always been steep. Every nation. They left behind barbecue, boat ride, and families, friends, and fulaugh shared under the sun tures so that we could build has been made possible by ours in peace. generations of heroes who stood on the front lines, So, as all of us at Coastal often in the harshest of Angler Boston embrace conditions, to defend our the joys of the season this

Memorial Day, let us also pause to reflect. Visit a veterans' cemetery, fly your flag at half-staff, attend a local ceremony, or simply take a quiet moment to honor those we've lost.

Gratitude doesn’t require grand gestures—just the recognition that freedom is never free, and that it’s our duty to remember those who paid for it.

Let’s carry that gratitude with us—not just on Memorial Day, but every day.

Because remembrance keeps their legacy alive.

COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM | MAY 2025 | BOSTON 1

EDITORIAL An Interview with Blood in the Water's Author Casey Sherman!

A Coastal Angler Exclusive. A one on one interview with national best-selling author Casey Sherman about his explosive new true crime classic, Blood in the Water: The Untold Story of a Family Tragedy.

Question: “Casey Sherman, you are a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and USA Today #1 best-selling author of 18 books. What drew you to this story?”

Sherman: “I am always interested in what the US Coast Guard is doing. I wrote the international best-seller, The Finest Hours, about the greatest small boat rescue in American history, which was adapted for a Walt Disney film in 2016, so when I heard about an exhaustive

search and rescue effort off the coast of New England that same year involving a young man and his mother who had gone missing, my antenna went straight up.”

Question: “You were recently featured on ABC’s 20/20 discussing your book with reporter Deborah Roberts. Can you summarize the story?”

Sherman: “When Nathan Carman, a young man with a complicated past, is miraculously rescued from a lifeboat bobbing in

2 BOSTON | MAY 2025 | COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

the unforgiving North Atlantic, questions swirl about the fate of his mother, who is presumed to have drowned when their fishing boat sank. Nathan is in remarkably good shape for being lost at sea for a week, and his account of what exactly happened out there on the waves raises questions from family members and law enforcement. Nathan's story of a fishing trip gone awry doesn't quite add up, and suspicion mounts. The

mysterious murder of Nathan's multi-millionaire grandfather a few years before had made Nathan's mother an extremely wealthy woman. With a seven-million-dollar fortune at stake, did Nathan commit the ultimate betrayal? Or is there more to this tragic tale than meets the eye? I worked to answer these questions in my propulsive book, which is now the #1 true crime best-seller in America.”

r of milther fore an's mely With ollar did the Or this eets d to ions ook, e #1 eller

EDITORIAL (Continued from Page 2)

much different from the story that the media has put out there.

The truth is even more shocking than the national headlines surrounding this case.”

Question: Who

Question: “What are some of the questions you raise in your book?”

Sherman: “Law enforcement has stated that Nathan Carman, a young man on the autism spectrum, murdered his mother, 54 year-old Linda Carman at sea, and also murdered his wealthy grandfather all to gain access to a $50 million

family fortune. I raise serious questions about the timeline of the grandfather’s murder and the motivation behind his brutal death.

I found several other potential suspects that were more likely to kill the grandfather than Nathan Carman was. With regard to the likely drowning of Nathan’s mother in 2016, I explore whether her death was a case

of simple negligence or should buy this whether it was the re- book? sult of a diabolical plot to kill.”

S h e r m a n : “A n y o n e who has an appreciQuestion: “You are ation for the ocean an award winning and for fishing, and all and world renowned true crime fans as it’s investigative joura gripping contemponalist. Can you exrary true crime narraplain your process?” tive for everyone who was fascinated by the Sherman: “I go into evMurdaugh murders, ery book project with and for anyone coma clear and unbiased pelled by the intersecapproach. I let the evidence take me where I tion between money, need to go. With Blood power, and family.” in the Water, I interviewed over thirty key witnesses, examined all the Coast Guard and criminal investigative reports, and the story that I found was

Blood in the Water is now available at all major bookstores nationwide and is also available in hardcover and audio at Amazon.

COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM | MAY 2025 | BOSTON 3

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EDITORIAL The Moments that Matter for the People Who Matter

By Regan Communications Group

was born. Last Christmas season, Miles for Military flew nearly 50 service members with holiday leave to hometowns across the country. Soldiers and Marines who otherwise would not have been able to afford to get home, were able to spend the holidays with loved ones and friends thanks to Byrnes’ vision and supporters.

On the last Monday of this month, we will gather in backyards, in front of grills and firepits, in parks and at parades, and – for readers of this magazine – on the water. Friends and family, food, drink, and fun.

But shame on us if that’s all Memorial Day is for us, because we are reminded daily about what it really means.

That meaning is found all around us. All you need to do is look. It’s found in reminders of the ultimate sacrifice given by Americans across all of our history, in lands far from home, against dictators and terrorists who threatened our freedom and our very civilization. It’s found, too, in the smaller acts of service that the rest of us are called to do to honor those who paid the full measure of sacrifice.

non-profit organization, Miles for Military. The charity was founded by Maureen Byrne, a Boston native and the mother of a former Marine whose son would tell her about his friends who could not afford to fly home when they got leave.

"I knew I needed to do something to help them get home for the holidays and other moments that matter.”

- Maureen Byrne, Founder Miles for Military

Byrne had an idea for a charitable organization that would provide transport home to junior enlisted service members. To earn their flights home, the servicemen and women would perform volunteer service with a charitable organization of their choosing, in turn helping the people that those groups serve – a “win-winwin,” Byrne said.

President Ronald Reagan said, “And if words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vi- “Knowing the strain on sion that led them to battle those in the armed services who haven’t seen their famand to final sacrifice.” ilies for two years or longer.

We were reminded of that quote recently by our With the help and backing of friends at a wonderful new a friend, Miles for Military

One of the organization’s board members, retired Special Forces Airman Ramon “CZ” Colon-Lopez, said Miles for Military plays a crucial role supporting the overall wellness of service members – an effort that deserves the support of all Americans.

“This is what a ‘whole of nation’ approach looks like: They defend our freedoms, and we find ways to support them,” said Colon-Lopez, who rose to the rank of Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (SEAC), the highest enlisted rank in the United States armed forces This year, Miles for Military is building out its organization and working to expand its donor base and outreach.

The group recently hired an executive director, Jack Boger, a retired Marine officer and recent divinity school graduate, and completed production of a video to raise awareness of its mission.

more dearly than most.

“As a Marine Gold Star Father, I know firsthand the sacrifices our brave troops and their families make every day,” Rep. Xiarhos said.

“The holidays are a time for healing and connection, and programs like Miles for Military make it possible for our heroes to come home to their loved ones when it matters most. I vividly remember the joy of seeing my own Marine son return home, and I understand how meaningful it is to create those memories together.”

Miles for Military is not just about flights—it’s about honoring service, fostering family bonds, and showing gratitude to that special breed of men and women who risk, and all too often give, their lives to defend our freedoms.

It’s about, as President Reagan reminded us, a way to “keep faith with them.”

And that sentiment is what must be foremost in our minds and hearts on Memorial Day. Sure, enjoy the day off, the burgers and beer, but please don’t forget the reason for it.

If you would like to donate to Miles for Military please visit www.milesformilitary.org.

State Representative Steve Xiarhos, a Gold Star Father and the ranking member of the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, holds the importance of that mission COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM | MAY 2025 | BOSTON 5

CATCH OF THE MONTH

N 6 BOSTON | MAY 2025 | COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

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Club Meeting:

Coastal Angler Magazine, Boston JOB TYPE: PART-TIME REQUIRED EXPERIENCE: FISHING & SALES

Plum Island Surfcasters meets on the third Tuesday of each month.

On May 20, 2025 we will have Joe Welch of Olde School Charters presenting: Kickin' It Up A Gear: Higher Speed Trolling Strategies for the Beach Front and Deep Water

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CONFESSIONS OF A FISHAHOLIC

GROUPER SEASON BACK OPEN...FOR NOW

A

!er breaking fishermen’s hearts by releasing trophy grouper throughout the closed season, May is finally here, opening grouper season for anglers on the Atlantic Coast. I, for one, am thrilled to be able to add these tasty critters to the icebox yet again.

The red grouper is one of the most popular bottom fish found along the southeastern coast of the United States, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

It’s firm, white flesh and rich flavor make it a favorite for the majority of o%shore anglers.

Easily recognizable by its reddish-brown coloration, the red grouper features scattered white blotches and a stocky body that suits its role as an ambush predator in rocky reef environments.

Pulling one up from the depts that they exist in is the price you’ll pay to put this meat on your table because they’re also able to aggressively resist your will and challenge your strength. I like targeting them using live or cut bait. Once hooked, they tend to dive back into structure, which makes landing them a rewardingly brutal experience.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has attempted to monitor stock assessments of red grouper, although many cite flawed data in their forecasts. The catch limits and season closures that they’ve implemented have substantially reduced the angling communities’ opportunities to catch this highly sought a!er fish. For

THATCH MAGUIRE, EDITOR AT LARGE

those who regularly bottom fish the overabundance seems to be more of a problem than the reduced stock assessments that NOAA has promoted.

I could be wrong, but it seems as if NOAA has become antirecreation-fishing oriented. Their policies and choice of data has created a distrust among many (most all) anglers these days. While ASA and numerous other angler organization have attempted to impact NOAA’s trend toward “Don’t Catch,” much remains to be done to correct the adversarial relationship between the American angler and this once highly respected organization.

My small home town once had an animal control officer that hated and abused stray dogs.

Once the community brought this to the attention of local government office the problem got solved relatively quickly. They fired him. No more problem. Has it come time to fire the management team of NOAA? Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Coastal Angler Magazine or any entities they represent.

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TACTICS FOR CHASING

CHANNEL CATS

By Paul MacInnis

C

atching channel catfish can be a lot of fun and super rewarding—these guys fight hard! And the nice thing about catfishing is you don’t need fancy baits or tackle. If you want to target bullheads and smaller pan-sized catfish you can use baits you gather right out of the river like grass shrimp and mussels. You can also use earth worms or small chunks of hotdog. Fish these baits on a 1/0 Aberdeen hook and add just enough split shot to your line to hold bottom.

But I prefer to target bigger channel catfish, the bigger the better, using peeled shrimp for bait. You don’t need fresh shrimp, a bag of frozen shrimp from your local bait shop works fine.

I also like to use cut bait as it holds up well to the bait stealers. Cut mullet or chunks from just about any fish work.

I use a standard fish finder rig. Run the line through a one-quarter to one ounce egg sinker, choosing just enough weight to hold bottom. Tie the line to a swivel and add about one to two feet of twenty pound test monofilament to the other end of the swivel. To the end of this leader I tie a 4/0 Team Catfish TC84Z circle hook.

Baitcasting gear used for bass fishing and 2000 to 3000 sized spinning tackle works fine for channel cats. You can get by with inexpensive monofilament, but I prefer a good quality 10-pound test braid like Platypus Platinum Plus. Braid won’t bow out as much as monofilament due to wind or current so it gives you a straighter connection between rod tip and bait. This kind of tackle can get sporty if a 10-pound-plus catfish takes your bait, but sporty is exactly what I am looking for!

Popular wisdom says you should fish your baits in the deeper bends and holes. I fished that way for years and caught plenty of one to five pound catfish, but bigger fish eluded me. Many rivers (even lakes) are loaded with little coves and basins. I’ve learned if there is three feet or more of water in these basins there’s a decent chance there will be some nice catfish there. I’ll park my kayak at the edge of the opening and cast a bait towards the center of the mouth of the cove, trying to place my bait in the slack water but close, within 10 feet or so, of the current. If I am feeling ambitious I’ll toss a second bait towards the back of the cove. Most of the time the biggest catfish go for the bait close to the cove mouth...but that isn’t always the case.

I like to let the circle hook do all the work so I’ll leave the rods in the rod holders until a fish puts a good bend in the rod and maybe even takes drag. Keep your ears open for loud splashes as channel cats will o!en thrash at the surface right a!er feeling the hook. Also watch your line. Catfish don’t always take the bait going away from you. If your line goes slack or your bait changes position reel up tight and see if there is a fish on the line.

Finally, if you start catching a lot of bowfin you might want to move elsewhere (unless you like catching bowfin) because I find catfish and bowfin seldom share the same locations.

Channel catfish can be aggressive predators and many a bass angler has been surprised when a big cat grabs their bass lure.

Most of the time I wouldn’t advise tossing lures as an efficient way of targeting catfish, but some years there is an exception that happens in spring into early summer. Winter and spring are typically dry season and water levels drop. Fish congregate in what deeper holes are le! and become aggressive due to high competition for food. This is one time when you can readily catch catfish on lures and even flies. I like small plastic worms and other so! plastic baits bumped slowly along the bottom.

Keep in mind catfish are primarily scent feeders so dousing your lure with a decent fish scent helps.

During low water you’ll occasionally run across a real treat, a sandy bottom pool where you can spot catfish and sight cast to them. I highly recommend a quality pair of polarized sunglasses with an amber tint and mirror coating to help you tell catfish from gar and tilapia.

I suggest you give fishing for channel cats a try, especially on those days when “gamefish” don’t cooperate. Be patient, stay persistent, and enjoy the process!

TIPS FROM A PRO

COVERING WATER WITH A BLADED JIG

W

hen you first drop your boat in the water, o!entimes it can be extremely overwhelming on where to fish and what to throw. One bait I have found in particular seems to catch bass at every lake I go to. This bait is a bladed jig, better known as a chatterbait. The bladed jig is a extremely versatile bait, meaning you can throw it around so many di%erent types of cover and fish it at many varying depths. It allows you to cover a vast amount of water and locate bass that would usually take days to find with other baits.

As you approach a new lake or even one you have been to a thousand times, it’s always a good idea to throw a confidence bait that you know will get bites. The chatter-bait is mine. I’ve found that no matter the cover, grass, trees, docks, riprap, etc., it gets bit. With the blade on the front vibrating so erratically, it allows this bait to come through cover extremely well and creates a reaction strike no other bait can.

Let’s talk about matching the chatterbait to the bait forage. By matching the color of the bladed jig to the forage in the lake, a bass can’t resist it as a nice snack when you reel it through

their home. Depending on the time of year and what kind of bait the bass are feeding on where you are fishing, there is a color made to match the hatch. If shad is the prevalent forage, I like to stick to a white or a baitfish color like a pearl and silver with a silver colored blade. If it’s bluegill, you can get by with a green pumpkin or anything with some yellow and orange mixed in with a darker blade color.

Sometimes water color can play a factor in color choice as well. If the water is very dirty, you will have to use a color that will stick out so that they can see it pass by. Something like a white and chartreuse with a white blade (for baitfish imitation) or even a bright orange with a black blade (for crawfish imitation) can do the trick.

Sizes and weights of your bladed jig are extremely important. With sizes ranging from 1/4 oz. all the way to 1.25 oz., the depth you are fishing will decide what you tie on. I typically start with a 3/8 oz. or a 1/2 oz. which will allow you to cover water depths from 1 to 10 feet depending on your retrieve. If I find some deeper cover that i want to get down to and fish, I will go a little heavier to a 3/4 oz.

TYLER WOOLCOTT

Buying a bladed jig and tying it directly on your rod usually isn’t too e%ective without putting a trailer on the back of it. I like to try and match the color of the trailer to the color of the skirt on your chatterbait of choice to get the most natural look for the fish. The type of trailer can be a bit more complicated. I use either a swimbait style trailer with a boot tail or a flapping style trailer like a craw pattern. The boot tail stands out when fish are very aggressive and aren’t scared of the more aggressive action the boot tail causes behind the bait. The flappy trailer is better for highly-pressured fish that want a little more of a subtle approach who might not like the amount of action a swimbait trailer has.

A chatterbait is a very dominant bait all across the country and I rely on this bait at all times of the year to help me put fish in the boat.

Next time you hit the lake, give the chatter-baitt a try and cover some water!

BLADED JIG GEAR: When throwing a bladed jig its important to have the correct gear.

I use a 13 Fishing Myth Rod 7’5 MH-mod paired with a 13 Fishing Concept A 7:5:1 reel. I spool this up with 17 lb. Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon line making this the perfect combo for the job.

Tyler Woolcott is a professional tournament angler and guide. Check out his website at www.tylerwoolcottfishing.com.

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TEXAS ANGLER LANDS RECORD 884-POUND BLUEFIN TUNA A Port Arthur, TX angler and his friends I came up on the drag and gave her 10 cranks. As recently achieved an extraordinary feat— soon as I engaged the clicker again the giant fish reeling in an enormous 884-pound bluefin piled on again. That’s when the first 3/4 spool run at 35 pounds of drag started.” tuna.

Realizing what was at stake, his team quickly On April 10, David Esslinger and his friends were fishing in the Gulf when the massive fish got into position for the ensuing battle, clearing struck his line with incredible force. He had no lines and the deck.

“I had to crank it up to 45 pounds of drag on idea he was about to embark on the most intense battle of his fishing career. Thankfully, Esslinger the Tiagra to slow her down. She responded with had an eager crew by his side, ready to assist in a rush to the surface. Carson was at the helm with Brad, TC, Je%, and Colby, coordinating everything landing this remarkable fish.

“Let me break down the day and the events for efficiently from cockpit to helm. We managed to you. First o%, for those who have never landed a get the fish up to the surface in just over an hour,” fish the size of a car, this is no small feat. No one stated Esslinger.

A!er an exhausting five-hour battle of accomplishes this alone,” Esslinger posted on strength and endurance, Esslinger and his crew Facebook.

The group set out early Friday morning. By 9 finally brought the massive bluefin alongside the a.m., a!er a couple of hours of fishing, they started boat. With shaking body and inoperable hands, noticing signs of a school of tuna breaking the Esslinger made his way to the side of the boat and surface of the calm waters. Suddenly, the right screamed with utter shock, “What a giant bluefin! rigger snapped down with a forceful bite, signaling We did it!”

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