Crazy Yellowfin Tuna Catch Captured On Camera In Florida Keys
ISLAMORADA (CBSMiami) -- Yellowfin tuna are normally a deepwater roaming fish found far offshore of land.
But Sunday, a young Destin, Fla., fishing professional, vacationing in the Florida Keys, orchestrated an unorthodox catch of a yellowfin swimming lazily in a resort's shallow-water oceanside boat basin in Islamorada.
The video of Alex Hare, 22, and another person free-gaffing the tuna, estimated to weigh about 100 pounds, has gone viral.
Hare, who was staying with friends at Angler's Reef, located near mile marker 84.5, spotted the fish swimming lazily in the resort's small harbor for about 20 minutes.
Hare decided to try to catch it and rigged up a gaff to do so.
The cell phone video shows Hare sinking a gaff into the side of the fish as it swam by the dock. A second person helped out with another gaff.
The fish was hoisted on the dock and then cleaned with tuna loins going to the crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle.
"I have absolutely no clue what the fish was doing there," said Hare, who has caught yellowfin on rod and reel previously while fishing in the Gulf of Mexico near oil rigs in 6,000 feet of water. "For sure it was lost and it likely would not have survived in the harbor."
Beyond the benefits of fresh tuna for lunch and dinner, Hare also won $100 when another resort guest argued with him about the fish's identification after initially seeing it in the water.
"He told me no way that was a tuna and said he would bet $100 on it," said Hare. "But after we brought the fish on the dock, he got his wallet out and gave me 100 bucks."
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