Massachusetts Capt. Dom Petrarca just made history landing a massive 597 pound bluefin tuna on spinning tackle. Something that has been up until now unheard of. Due to the quality of today’s tackle and fast boat skills it opens a new chapter in tuna fishing for anglers…
“My anglers were rock stars, as soon as the fish was hooked, we instantly knew it was of size. As line melted off the spool at an alarming rate, we cleared everything off the rails and began chasing this demon…directly into the tide and wind, straight into the waves. The first 20 minutes were spent with heavy throttle, an angler pinned to the combing bolsters along the rail, reeling like mad as we tried to get enough line back on the spool to handle the next run, as the fish went east, west, then back to east, all at a distance of 3 to 4 football fields away from us anytime it switched direction. The line was stretched out a good 60 to 70 yards horizontal to the water before it even entered, indicating typical behavior of a really BIG fish.”
A 597-pound bluefin tuna is landed off the Cape Cod area. photo courtesy of Coastal Fishing Charters
flies, sand & surf 
Thanks Al what a story, Those guys are Rock Stars!that made my buddy’s day, he gets grief all the time from his fishing buddies on Baja trips because he takes that same Rod & Reel and ties a Palomar Knot.Steve BrunelleGolden Trout LanyardsLake Mathews, Ca
it’s amazing what can be accomplished with determination, skill, great equipment, a good captain and of course a little luck. grin
Yep they gave me a lot of grief over the spinning stuff and the Palomar knot in Baja. This was perfect to send on to them. I’m sure that there were some excellent boat handling skills involved in landing this fish just like when I got my sailfish on 20lb test and a Shimano Calcutta.