TUNA.Com. * Trip of a Lifetime

[howarda780]

Jon Devin, Eric (In Pursuit) and I made our long scheduled trip to Gloucester for Giants. We have fished with Dave Carraro for the past (2) years for cod, haddock and pollack and had limit catches.

Left the dock promptly at 4AM and headed out. Had some heavy rain and a little snotty on the way out to the grounds.

Set out a couple of lines and while Dave was giving us a lesson on what was going to happen, we hooked up. Eric fought the fish for almost an hour before the line had gill rubbed and he broke off at the boat on the surface. Approx weight 350-450.

We get back to the ball and 10 minutes later, Paul (the mate) says" get ready" boom! There it goes off again, this time peeling out all the mono and 3/4 of the backing off the spool. Dave stopped him initially and got back almost all of the backing. We took turns on the rod for the next hour and Dave finally harpooned the massive beast at 1.5 hrs. The fish is estimated at approx 900lbs. 110" long. The biggest fish on Tuna.com this year.

It was a true team effort, taking turns on the fish, running the boat, clearing the lines, etc. Paul took approix 45 mins to an hour to head, gut, and ice the fish down. We got him back to the dock and a crane lifted her into a box truck. We just received a note from Dave saying the fish was in transit to Japan.

We fished in a large group of boats and there was only one or two fish caught. We had the one on the surface and the one that we caught. Dave runs an extremely tight operation. Everything was stellar!

My pics to follow and I am sure Eric and Jon will post some as well. If you want to go tuna or ground fishing, here is the boat to go on. We had an excellent time.

[Topeka Boy]

What A Beast Great Job By All.:d :d :d

[Duffman]

Awesome stuff Howie!! Gotta see these pics.


Cant imagine that fight, like trying to reel in a car!!

[NJ Dave]

Nice fish!
Was it your choice to send it off to the market and do you guys get a cut of the fish sale?
I would imagine that fish will fetch a pretty penny hopfully which will pay for the trip.

[tropics]

Nice job Howie & Eric way to rep NJFishing.

[In Pursuit]

Tick another one off my bucket list, what an experience!! I went on the trip thinking hey the rods are in the rod holder and we are using 130s how hard could it be? All I can say is holy s**t these things are freaking powerful. It was a bit of a bummer to lose the "little guy" next to the boat but we were definitely rewarded with something truly special. These are some magnificent creatures and it was a honor to be part of this trip.

Thanks to Capt Dave and Paul for running an absolute spotless and professional
operation.

NJ Dave, all fish over 73" have to be sold commercially, depending what it sells for in Japan, we may get a free trip out of it.

[Baldguy01]

great fish! def on my bucket list, but not sure I like the idea of a fish caught on the US coast heading to Japan - regardless of market conditions - something to ponder I guess

[vinntastic]

Damn,you Said It Fish Of A Lifetime,something From The Dicovery Channel,way To Go Guys

[RnK]

why is it that the captain only gives back the fares and keeps such a huge dollar amount all for himself. Doesn't seem right - heard they all do it that way in MA, guess that's why you have no choice.

Am I missing something? Thoughts???

[Life's A Beach]

sounds like a fun trip Howie.

I also "wonder" about the meat. I have NO idea about the rules/regulations but it seems weird that YOU pay to charter a boat but don't get to eat what you catch?

I "NO" Joey Joe Murray aint going on one of THOSE trips. He'd wind up stealing the bait to take home!