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The Biggest Tuna Ever Caught (From a Kayak)
The Biggest Tuna Ever Caught (From a Kayak)
Matt Shepard of Virginia Beach, Virginia, landed this 166-pound bluefin tuna on March 10 while fishing from a kayak about 40 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The fish sets a new record for the largest tuna ever caught from a kayak. Shepard is part of a small but growing band of kayak anglers who practice mothershipping—using a charter boat to get to deep offshore water that is normally out of kayaking range—in pursuit of big-water gamefish. No official group recognizes the sport yet; instead, kayak anglers keep tabs on record catches via Internet sites such as kayakfishrecords.com.
Additional Info
Photos 5 and 6 courtesy of Scott Warren at Big Tahuna Sport Fishing Charters (bigtahuna.com), Hatteras, NC, 252-986-4077. All other photos courtesy of Ric Burnley.
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Photo Gallery Comments (17)
Wow..Awesome fish..I wish someday I get to catch tuna that big..Congratulations to you Mr. Matt Shepard!!!
Congrats on a beautiful fish, but should the record really count if it's landed by the guide boat? Isn't that one of the biggest challenges faced by a 'yak fisher?
WVOtter: That takes nothing away from the catch. I would love to see you in a 13' kayak, fighting ocean swells and battling a huge fish as he did and not want any assistance in getting it in the boat. With that said, I am a kayak angler so I may be a little bit bias. I just choose to fight my fish with a fly rod and not big game gear.
Impressive. Landing big cobia and jacks inshore from a kayak is no easy task. I can only imagine trying to handle a tuna that size especially in the swells off of Hatteras.
Not sure I get it actually! Kind of like being pulled around the streets of New York attached to a taxi? Seriously at the end of the day the big boat pulled it in!
Great April Fool's gag! In all seriousness, that is pretty impressive. Congrats on the monster fish!
This item reminds me of Ernest Hemmingway's "Old Man and The Sea" A lot of work on behalf of the fisherman, congratulations!
as an eastern nc anngler myself i want to say Awesome fish, and i bet that was one heck of a ride. BTW it counts as a catch if you touch the leader, and not by who brings in the fish into a boat, big or small.
Amazing fish, have never heard of one nearly that big being caught in a kayak
Just got a yak to fish out of. I'm just hoping for 5 lb. bass. I can't imagine landing a tuna like that. Quite an accomplishment. http://www.crazyfisherman.com
The biggest fish I got out of my kayak was a sunfish. That one beats mine I think.
Call me a purist... I used to kayak fish in Alaska and have a buddy that brought in a 100 lb halibut from a yak... no support vessel.
If you want to impress me... figure out a way to get out and back on your own power... anything you can carry in your boat is legal gear to me... but you have to do it from port to fishing grounds back to port.
Or find a 3-day weekend to go from port to an island off shore and camp, fish the next day, then paddle back the following...
I am gearing up for some alaskan halibut adventures. There is a kayak fishing video online at kayakfishingtales.com (I think) about a guy that lives in Ketchikan AK that caught a 200lb halibut... more like a small whale in a little boat like that... but he guides folks up there from kayaks.
Kayak fishing is REALLY an awesome sport. Even if you only catch a rockfish... Then prep it over a fire on a beach... so fresh it still wiggles its way down to your tummy.... : )
Great job! Sounds like an absolute blast.
nice catch - highly accomplished! can't imagine this record being broken anytime soon.
congrats!
many of the gallery photos were VERY lame - isn't there an photo editor at work over there?
bjyaker...you havnt fished hatteras have you?
Awesome catch. bjyakker, there is no where to stop and rest in a kayak between Hatteras Inlet and the Gulf Stream 30 miles offshore.
no dude i caught a 375 tuna trolling behind some sport boat we rainto some porpises but still nice fish
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Wow..Awesome fish..I wish someday I get to catch tuna that big..Congratulations to you Mr. Matt Shepard!!!
WVOtter: That takes nothing away from the catch. I would love to see you in a 13' kayak, fighting ocean swells and battling a huge fish as he did and not want any assistance in getting it in the boat. With that said, I am a kayak angler so I may be a little bit bias. I just choose to fight my fish with a fly rod and not big game gear.
Impressive. Landing big cobia and jacks inshore from a kayak is no easy task. I can only imagine trying to handle a tuna that size especially in the swells off of Hatteras.
Great April Fool's gag! In all seriousness, that is pretty impressive. Congrats on the monster fish!
as an eastern nc anngler myself i want to say Awesome fish, and i bet that was one heck of a ride. BTW it counts as a catch if you touch the leader, and not by who brings in the fish into a boat, big or small.
The biggest fish I got out of my kayak was a sunfish. That one beats mine I think.
Congrats on a beautiful fish, but should the record really count if it's landed by the guide boat? Isn't that one of the biggest challenges faced by a 'yak fisher?
This item reminds me of Ernest Hemmingway's "Old Man and The Sea" A lot of work on behalf of the fisherman, congratulations!
Amazing fish, have never heard of one nearly that big being caught in a kayak
Just got a yak to fish out of. I'm just hoping for 5 lb. bass. I can't imagine landing a tuna like that. Quite an accomplishment. http://www.crazyfisherman.com
Great job! Sounds like an absolute blast.
nice catch - highly accomplished! can't imagine this record being broken anytime soon.
congrats!
many of the gallery photos were VERY lame - isn't there an photo editor at work over there?
bjyaker...you havnt fished hatteras have you?
Awesome catch. bjyakker, there is no where to stop and rest in a kayak between Hatteras Inlet and the Gulf Stream 30 miles offshore.
Call me a purist... I used to kayak fish in Alaska and have a buddy that brought in a 100 lb halibut from a yak... no support vessel.
If you want to impress me... figure out a way to get out and back on your own power... anything you can carry in your boat is legal gear to me... but you have to do it from port to fishing grounds back to port.
Or find a 3-day weekend to go from port to an island off shore and camp, fish the next day, then paddle back the following...
I am gearing up for some alaskan halibut adventures. There is a kayak fishing video online at kayakfishingtales.com (I think) about a guy that lives in Ketchikan AK that caught a 200lb halibut... more like a small whale in a little boat like that... but he guides folks up there from kayaks.
Kayak fishing is REALLY an awesome sport. Even if you only catch a rockfish... Then prep it over a fire on a beach... so fresh it still wiggles its way down to your tummy.... : )
no dude i caught a 375 tuna trolling behind some sport boat we rainto some porpises but still nice fish
Not sure I get it actually! Kind of like being pulled around the streets of New York attached to a taxi? Seriously at the end of the day the big boat pulled it in!
Post a Comment