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True bluewater extreme...

9K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  juro 
#1 ·
#3 · (Edited)
According to the report , if this guy is waiting to hook a 300 or 400 pounder from the yak, I have serious doubts that he will be able to do that. Unless he is extremely lucky especially if he gets it near the yak... and it's zig zagging all over the place. It's possible I suppose but ......:confused: Why fight it to death? Whats the point... do people need the ego boost..."Lets climb Mt. Everset without bottled oxygen". "I fought and landed a blue fin tuna from my yak"...No Jim, not a death wish...but rather. a manly man! with the largest chongos, unlike the rest of us guys. Just an opinion from .......Bond, James Bond .... PS. The answer is in the article...."“I can’t be revealing all my secrets,” he said, “or else guys who are younger and in better shape will be breaking my records.”....Me, me, I, I , MY ,MY
 
#5 · (Edited)
I doubt it.....A NYC commodities and futures trader is unlikely to have "feeding the family" problems along with high end reels. And getting his story in the NY Times is exactly what he "needs". Fighting a fish, any fish, to death is BS, even if you intend to keep it just to satify some "ego" issues he has not dealt with. A blind man can see that. He is not considered a "hero" by many I know despite what the article says. It is "his terms" that are ego. Also, There are "harder" ways to catch tuna from a larger boat....like lighter tackle than he is using. Now...I do not know the so called "secrets"....but if it were me, I would easily hook it with a spinning rod if within range....let enough line out till I get the "thrill" of the nantucket ride....Keep enough line out, letting it run....keeping it away from the yak..big deal.. till it goes belly up.... then hook the line to the back of the yak (The "secret "probably is doing so while it is still many yards away from the yak)...as I rowed, sweating back to shore , tipping my hat to all the women watching a real man at work.. shouting "I'll be at the Squire tonight to tell you what is was REALLY like"... Later that night..... "so there I was, all alone with a crazed tuna atleast 400 pounds.... I knew I was in trouble when it's dark eyes looked right at me... Like..like..challenging me... You know , Ladies... I was too afraid to be afraid... That was when I felt really ALIVE. By the way... are there any reporters around?" ......That is all I am going to say and will not waste more time on it.
 
#7 ·
I have to agree John. I liken this to sport hunting simply to mount the head of an exotic animal on a wall. I could be wrong but my understanding is that a fight to the death would create enormous lactic acid build up rendering the meat almost useless.

With all the press in recent years over the decline in tuna stocks why not just hitch the "special kayak" to the back of a power boat for the same sensation.

I realize there are much greater villains destroying our oceans but killing a 100lb fish, destroying any eatable quality all for self promotion leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
 
#10 ·
................also, the next story will be about how the Coast Guard guys will risk their lives to have to save him and there will be no stories about them individually who had to waste time and money to rescue this clown. But the stories of OUR hero will be big stuff in the posh Manhattan Bars as he relates his spin tingling experience to all the other suits (and reporters) sipping dry martinis....shaken not stirred........Next stop... David Letterman show:roll:
 
#11 ·
I admit my ignorance regarding my original perspective on this topic especially after discovering the plight of the Giant Bluefin Tuna ((scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bluefin-tuna-stocks-threatened-cites-japan-monaco) and (npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94299340) thanks to Bob Triggs!).

I certainly can admire the extreme aspect of the quest, but after a short retrospective it appears self serving to say the least.
 
#12 ·
I personally don"t think it has to do with ignorance at all... It is afterall, at first blush, an extreme activity which Human nature will rally too....so I certainly understand your reaction... some on other forums have said that it is similar to the "Wright Bros" and from someone I know well for years... which was a surprise to me.....Nevertheless...one point worth mentioning is that this is not, looking at the laws of physics, the hard way to catch Tuna...in fact it is probably the easiest (not the yak off 20 miles ) way to do so... I will not restate the obvious...but trying to bring a 160 pound Tuna from the gunnal of a boat as quickly as you can, using your power to pull (with help from the boat as well) is far harder than letting it pull you for hours until it died.
 
#15 ·
Really? I am sure there are much larger things out there to piss and moan about. The guy caught 1 fish, kept it and was done. Not like he is a charter catching a dozen or so, fighting them all for an hour or more and then maybe keeping one of them. His impact in a year is a total of maybe 2-3 fish. Whatever you think of him, the method he is using an extremely low impact method to catch fish. Finding bluefin to catch is hard enough in a power boat much less in a kayak.

Whatever the plight of the tuna is it is legal to keep em. I would much rather see a guy go out and take his one fish and hang em up for the day. Not really concerned about how he goes about it. I am quite convinced many tuna die from catch and release, much higher than with striped bass.

You see others catch a bunch in a day when the odds are at least 10% a released fish is going to die. I am sure most of the charters out there have killed many more tuna via release in a season than this guy will kill in a lifetime.

Sure he may have an ego and is doing something way dangerous. Nature usually has a way with dealing with that.

-sean
 
#16 ·
Really?.... Like the 14 blue fin he hooked....had them tow him around.... before he caught the celebrity fish..... they eventually broke off with hook , line and lure still in their mouths..... probably spinning slowly down to the bottom. And the charter captian who had to help him with one fish...took the rod... and broke it and then towed him back 14 miles to the shore. That's the real storyabout his ONE fish...get the facts first.
 
#17 ·
So John sounds like you are giving up fishing for bluefin. Do not want to hurt the poor fishes. If you feel that strongly about it seems a little hypocritical to fish for them at all, especially with an intent to release. Most of those 14 were probably on for minutes and over a long period of time. A couple years I am told. A decent charter captain will hook that many in a day.

See no difference with this than guys using light spinning tackle or 14wts for big bluefin. End result about the same and we all make our own choices.

-sean
 
#19 · (Edited)
"Not really concerned with how he goes about it"



Expand your thinking if you can......It seems as though a point is missed here... My point is really this and it has nothing to do with fish quotas.... I can "piss and moan" about the fact that this jackass has the potential of putting other people in harms way attempting to rescue him..not some commercial guy doing it for a living or even some recreational guy with a safer method..like a boat. and I certainly feel that I put it in the catagory of Intentional "irresponsible" fishing . It didn't sound at all like I was going to give up on Blue fin fishing although I admit I like striper fishing better. Is this clearer? But I suppose for a single 45 year old, who still lives at his Mommy and Daddy's summer home , such manly ventures might increase his ability to get laid.:lildevl: ;) I am speaking about Our "hero". One other point... the 14 other fish were towing for a while..I suspect, not having done it this way that with the right drag set it can tow you forever.....screw it up after an hour or so and it might then break off..so I can't see the comparison with the 14 wt at all......... unless you raise it just to be argumentative. If you think about it ...if he had a large Penn Reel and short Tuna stick...the tuna would still TOW him around...so it is not really about light tackle is it? I really can not say anymore about it...If you think it's ok...then fine. You are entitled to your opinion and your comparisons.. Politely calling me a hypocrite ("a little hypocritical") with such misguided comparisons seems intentional..over and out.
 
#21 · (Edited)
I have to be careful what I say here - hence my late response :lildevl:

Anyways, there comes a point where the battle between man and beast takes on a new dimension. I must admit the thought of a tussle with a BFT from the yak had crossed my mind a couple of times in the past.

There was a post recently of a guy tackling tarpon on fly whilst snorkelling. It was a hilarious and entertaining video and the fish eventually threw the hook. But there is serious side ...
 
#22 ·
I didn't read all of this because I am in denial of the arrival of winter.

But... my opinion (you know the saying) is I might like to try something like this once - BUT not tell anyone about it unless they see me and ask WTF? Exhilarating challenges help a guy feel a sense of primitive victory and make some of us feel more alive. HOWEVER I would not do it for press exposure or the admiration of bloggers; or if I was the support system for small children, etc.

Kinda what Adrian said :)

Because I did not read the thread fully I have no idea who I opposed or supported nor is it important, just another post in a stream of flyfishing consciousness (or semi-consciousness in my case)
 
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