77" Bluefin tuna was caught in 3' water

[ksong]

I read it from the other site.

Yesterday there was a 77" Bluefin taken in Archers Creek in 3 FEET of water. That's right 3 Feet!!!! The fish was caught off a 16 foot Carolina Skiff. It was caught by 2 locals that spotted the fish pushing water and went after it, armed with 20# spinning tackle with metal jigs. They ended up snagging the fish, and eventually got it to the skiff and then in the skiff. It was an illegal catch as the skiff did not hold a federal permit!! That is a panic!!

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/mascheer...60762352315439

[mcgolfer]

i wonder what the fine was? the poor fish had no deep water to run to. they had a ton of luck involved to get that fish to the boat and a heck of a lot more to get it into the boat...rick

[jaredchasteen]

That is a heck of a story

[bpitcher]

That's a dang nice fish, too bad about the fine though. I think if i was in their shoes I would have taken the fine too, just to land a fish like that.

I fished with a guide off cape cod for stripers and he was telling me about hooking up with the bluefin on striper gear in his little skiff. He mentioned one time in particular when he fought a 300# class fish for 4 or so hours untill the building seas were finally too much for him and he cut the line. When headed in he found that he had drifted/ been pulled 8 miles out to sea.

Brad

[Minnow]

Great story of a life time.
I would have take the fine too.

[Pope]

Crazy!

[Gunsmoke]

That federal fine is up to a judge. It could be huge. It is also illegal to snag a fish in Texas. They made it a law after the big fish kill happened around 1983.
There was a huge freeze that year that kept the temp along the coast below freezing for 84 hours. I was in Port A at the time with a new girlfriend.

The trout and redfish piled up in the harbors. Most were fighting for their lives as people were snagging them up with 6/0 treble hooks. Port Mansfield had tens of thousands of 6 to 12 pound trout in their harbor. Millions of trout died in that freeze. It even froze in Cancun for the first time in recorded history. Redfish faired better but thousands were floating dead on top of the water. The only fish that was not floating was the hardheads. Even the freeze can't kill those pest.

The diesel fuel filter in my truck turned into wax. I tried plugging in the 110volt heater built into the trucks radiator, but it didn't help. Nobody in Port A had a dry filter so I had to walk to Aransas Pass in a T-shirt in 18 degree weather. I packed light because my plan was to do nothing but indoor activities that weekend. Not one single snowbird bothered to give me a ride. I never help a snowbird in trouble after that experience. At least 50 of them passed me as I was trying to hitch hike a ride. To this day I have never forgiven them. I wish them all flat tires and major engine damage as they travel back home.

I took many pics. I had never seen blocks of ice in the surf the size of a 48 quart cooler. The jetties were also iced over. Most all of the palm trees froze and had to be removed. They ended up stacking them up at the sand dunes which in turn built the sand dunes to new heights.

Boats were sunk in the harbors because ice had formed up to 3 feet deep in the decks. Every single house and condo had broken pipes in town. All plumbing is exposed on the exterior along the Texas Coast as it rarely hits 32 degrees. The only good thing about that weekend was I left with a sore dip stick. That's always a good thing.

[Minnow]

Thanks for great story.

[ksong]

Gunsmoke,
Are you talking about freezing weather ?

[Ragman]

Wow, what an ice storm!

Hopefully no one was spending the night in there?

They would have thought GS had pulled the ultimate prank!