Fishing is a nice way to pass the time. It is relaxing to be out on the water. So relaxing it sometimes borders on boring, which is why tall fish tales were invented. This is not the case here.
On March 24, 2023, Tim Oestreich, captain of the Dolphin Express, and his crew and passengers battled a 676-pound bluefin tuna for two hours before finally reeling it in. It took 16 passengers plus the five-person crew to do so. The scaly creature even snapped the rod in two pieces during the fight.
The tuna was so strong that one angler would often last for only a couple of minutes before needing relief.
“When one angler was done, I would call for ‘fresh meat on the reel,’ Captain Oestreich recalled. It was one tough fish to catch.
It did not take long for this fish to bite, either. The bait was out on the hook for only 10 minutes before it was on the line. After biting, the tuna immediately tried to escape, taking 800 yards of line with it.
“That’s almost half a mile straight down in about a minute,” Oestreich explained.
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After 45 minutes, the combined efforts of all aboard the Dolphin Express got the tuna close to the boat again, but the fish took off again. Oestreich made the decision to let the fish tire itself out and followed it for 2½ miles. The fish got close again but made one last-ditch effort at escape and broke the rod in two. Oestreich pulled it in by hand the last 40 feet. It took eight people to lift the fish onto the boat.
To see it to believe it, watch this video.
