We were fishing 30 miles SE of Chatham For school bluefin tuna. The wind was up a bit and was supposed to be getting stronger but we were determined to get at least the morning in. Some of the other boats called their trips on account of the wind. What a mistake that was. The ride out was good, light winds. As the sun rose the wind picked up a bit but was still under 10 knots. The fish were up all over the surface. We managed to hook 5 fish but only landed 3 of them. We had a few other hits and misses. By 9 O'clock the wind started to blow around 15 Knots and the sea's started to build. There was a swell out of the SE around 6 feet. I was starting to ask the guy's if they wanted to start heading in to catch some stripers. All of a sudden the starboard rigger released with a loud snap. The fish was hooked and started to run. It was about 3 minutes before it finally stopped. We knew by the run that it was much larger than the 80lb.ers we already caught. After fighting the fish for an hour it was getting close. The wind was now up to 20 knots. When I first saw the fish I knew I needed the harpoon. The harpoon shot got the fish in the pectoral fin. I got the rope through his jaw and he was ours. It was the anglers first bluefin tuna. He was very tired but told me he enjoyed every minute of the fight. We trolled around for another hour or so but didn't get any more bites. All and all another awesome day on the tuna grounds.
