57 Tournament Fishing Club in Puerto Vallarta
RECORD BREAKING: YELLOW FIN TUNA
Another Huge Yellowfin Tuna by Mike Mazur
This is turning into the year of the giant yellowfin -and, apparently, they fancy the waters off Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Only a couple months after Ron Tegland took an estimated 432-pounder aboard his 65-foot Monterrey, Tenacious, Capt. Russell Oneil has weighed in another giant yellowfini, a 427.9 -pounder, abourd the Journeyman.
The fish, caught by the boat´s owner Robert Pedigo, was taken on a Shimano Tiagra 50W II loaded with 130-pound Jerry Brown braid on a double-trouble rig with two caballitos fished under a kite.
Puerto Vallarta has become a mecca for huge yellowfin recent years, as Sport Fishing reported in the October 2005 issue.
However, Tegland´s fish -caught in late January 2011 -was not submitted as an official IGFA record, as it apparently did noy meet all IGFA's requirements.
While the jury still out, it sounds as if this latest beast may not, either, as 130 -pound braid almost always overtest that maximum-allowed line strength nearly all brands. Online reports also suggested that multiple individuals may have touched the rod during the battle, thereby invalidating the catch by IGFA standards.
Nevertheless, the quantity of huge yellowfin in the region has made Puerto Vallarta the prime target for the next IGFA all-tackle world record.
Raul, a fisherman fan of tunas told us he catched a giant yellow fin tuna in the sea of Puerto Vallarta, took it on board one of 178 Kg after fighting three and a half hours with a mackerel bait about 2 kgs live, a rod of 130, a Penn International 80 reel with 800 yards of 130-pound line, a leader of 3 Mts. 400-pound fluorocarbon with a sea outrageously brave and says: "These are the trophies that give meaning to life, do not you think so?"
"There are bigger ones out there, I guarantee it!" says Oneil.
