Fishing is a patient sport. It can be several hours before you even feel a nibble, and even then, you may not get your catch. However, immersing yourself in nature and enjoying peaceful solitude are some of the unique experiences fishing has to offer.
For one fisherwoman, her patience certainly rewarded her.
Donna Pascoe set an Auckland (New Zealand-based) record for being the first female to catch a huge Pacific bluefin tuna.
And calling the fish giant is no exaggeration – see for yourself!
Donna underwent a long four-hour battle to reel in this big beauty, and she may earn a fishing world record in addition to her impressive catch!
In a video captured below by Donna herself, her team shares in the excitement of surprise of hooking such a big catch. It takes three people just to reel the tuna in!
For Donna, this was no beginner’s luck. Donna is an experienced angler who runs a fishing charter business. She caught the 411kg fish on her 17-meter boat “Gladiator”, near the Three Kings Islands off Cape Reinga in New Zealand.
The weather was rough for a day of fishing. The waves were strong and the powerful wind was unrelenting, but Donna hung in there, especially when her reel started to shed line around 9 in the morning.
“I went and grabbed the rod and jumped into the chair,” she said about the moment. “We had no idea what it was because it never jumped or showed its face. We thought it could have been a massive blue or black marlin … but it never crossed our minds that it could be a huge bluefin tuna!”
When asked about receiving any negative feedback for her impressive catch, Donna responded, “I was actually contacted after the catch by Pew Charitable Trust out of Washington DC who are a conservation group wanting to save the pacific bluefin tuna and they have asked me to assist them in advocating for governments to do the right thing and enact science-based management measures for Pacific Bluefin tuna. This is for the juvenile breeding stock of the species, not the big old fish.
“Genuine conservation groups realise it is not the recreational fishermen who are causing damage but just the opposite, they are keen to preserve the breeding stocks so there are more big fish in our ocean for the recreational fishermen.”
Because this bluefin was caught recreationally, it is illegal to try and sell it commercially. Nevertheless, the sheer size of the fish is amazing. I can only imagine the thrill of being there in person to reel it in.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
