A New Zealand woman is being lauded for possibly breaking the world record for the biggest tuna fish ever caught on a rod and reel, the Saltwater Sportsman reported.
Donna Pascoe was on her boat, the Gladiator, on Feb. 19 when she reeled in a 907-pound Bluefin tuna. The fish has been confirmed as the largest ever caught by a woman angler off New Zealand, according to the New Zealand Sports Fishing Council.
Pascoe, 56, was 34 miles north of the island country when she caught the enormous load.
"I hooked up at 9:10 a.m. with the reel screaming," Pascoe told the Saltwater Sportsman. "The fish never surfaced, so we had no idea what was on the other end. After three hours, the fish surfaced and the skipper yelled 'tuna, word record!' "
The fish's weight makes it 130 pounds heavier than the current all-tackle world record, which means the heaviest of all species, Grind TV reported. According to the International Game Fish Association, the current record is held by a 777-pound Pacific Bluefin tuna caught off New Zealand in September 2013.
Pascoe submitted her proof to the IGFA and is currently awaiting confirmation to see if she is the all-tackle world record holder.
It took Pascoe, a member of the Houhora Big Game & Sports Fishing Club, four hours to catch the fish. She told the Saltwater Sportsman the giant tuna put up a good fight.
"The line was peeling out like it was attached to a freight train. As usual, I was pretty nervous that I might get spooled. Thankfully, the fish stopped running and I was able to get a bit of the line back in," Pascoe said.
Catching the potentially record-breaking tuna is "even better because it beats all the boys," Pascoe told the Saltwater Sportsman.
