This enormous 888-pound bluefin tuna brought to the docks at Boshamps in Destin might be the largest ever caught off Florida. It won’t be a state record, because landing it was a team effort, but nobody in Destin is worried about that.
According to The Destin Log, Capt. George Gill was piloting the Flat Dangerous on its first Gulf of Mexico trip on Wednesday, April 24. About 68 miles out of Destin, the new 80-foot Viking encountered a massive school of surface-feeding bluefins while the crew was fishing for bait.
With just four baits onboard, some small yellowfin, skipjack and blackfin, they tossed baits into the school of bluefins and lost three big fish in short order. The fish of a lifetime for boat-owner Warren Williamson, of Alabama, came tight on the fourth and final bait.
The fish died about an hour into the fight, and it was a team effort to haul it to the surface over the next four hours with 100-pound main line, 150-pound braid and 400-pound leader.
Back at Boshamps, the fish measured 110 inches in length and weighed 888 pounds. That’s a heck of a fish to break in a new boat!
For more on this awesome fish, go to The Destin Log and Get The Coast.