A battle of epic proportions was played out off the Tasmanian coast this week, when two professional anglers were put up a fight with a 200kg Tuna that continued for over 19 hours, before disaster struck.

They say it was huge, ‘this big!’ in fact, but alas, proof of such a catch cannot be produced, because after 19 hours on the end of their line, this Tuna got away. But before we tell you how, first some background on the pair.

‘Hooch’ and ‘Mozz’, two professional anglers for Penn International were out off Tasmania looking for jumbo sized Tuna in the 100-200kg range. They hooked one just before midday, expecting the usual fight lasting around an hour, but this monster wasn’t giving up. Also on board the boat were both the Game Fishing Association of Australia, and the Game Fishing Association of NSW’s Presidents, who say they got a ‘few good looks’ at this Tuna, saying an under estimate was 200kgs. Considering the Tassie record for the species is 167kg, that’s a big call to make!

19 hours later, and 40km (yes, that’s off the continental shelf!) later, disaster struck when an Albatross arrived at the scene, interested in the Tuna the two had been fighting for almost a day. In the heat of battle, it spoiled the party, swooping in and breaking the line only a few meters from both the fish, and the boat.

"He deserved it," explained Mozz after his epic battle. "He (the Tuna) fought a good battle and he won and that's part of fishing and we were quite happy that he won.”

So that’s that. No pictures of the fish, just a poor guy in the back of a boat as it motors the 40km back to the ramp where they began. The one that got away, must have been a biggun!

#News #Fishing #Epic