Gaffed Tuna Lives Another Day

Captain Kevin Nakamaru had been trolling Kona's coastline all day without a bite aboard the "Northern Lights" when they stumbled across a small piece of debris loaded with bait. Matt Bowman who was working the back deck wasted no time rigging live-baits in hope of hooking a tuna lurking below the "floater."

After several passes angler Wade Renfro hooked a tuna and as the fish began to approach the surface the crew could see the large yellow fins indicative of a mature tuna circling deep below. When the fish came to the surface Kevin and Matt were shocked to see a small 40lb tuna with a one-meter gold AFTCO gaff stuck in its side!

Kevin noted that, "The tuna had a small hook in the roof of its mouth. The crimp or knot the previous anglers used broke and the tuna escaped with their gaff in its side. This tuna could have gotten rid of the gaff if it could swim backwards, but tuna always have to swim forward to breath- keeping the gaff in place."

As you can see in the picture the fish had been swimming around for quite some time with the gaff hanging out of its side. The wound had already begun to heal, showing that even fish released in relatively bad shape can survive and live to feed another day. According to Captain Nakamaru, "This is a good example that release is a good thing. The fish we let go do live!"

Something You Don't See Every Day