Father and son duo from virginia were fishing out of Oregon inlet in North Carolina when they hooked the fish of a lifetime, a 1000 pound bluefin tuna.
Josiah Van Fleet was fishing with his 9-year-old son Zeke when they caught the monster tuna from their 22 foot Grady-White. The tuna measured in at 114.5 inches long and was estimated at 1,000-pounds which would make it a record in North Carolina, besting the previous fishing record of 877 pounds caught back in 2017.
“When we were reeling the fish in, about three-quarters of the way through, our reel actually broke, and it would no longer turn,” Van Fleet told WAVY.com. “And so we had this 1,000-pound fish on the line. And we actually had to take another reel, tear off a ton of line real quick, and re-crimp both those lines together—all while the fish was on there. It was insane.”
Van Fleet said they never thought about giving up during the struggle. “No, not once,” he said. “No, we were gonna fight that thing until the end. Even if it took us into the nighttime. I mean, there’s no way.” The fight lasted two and a half hours, but it took another two hours to get the fish in the boat. “I think we are still in shock about this whole story,” Van Fleet wrote on Facebook. “I honestly think it was just a divine moment at just the right time. I definitely believe in prayer. And just when you least expect it this happens.” (via F&S)