World Records for Big Eye Tuna

Ryan Paik--Meritorious Award

     As I huddled under the beanbag pillow I promised myself I would never return to that torturous boat ride again if I made it back to the harbor alive.  It was January 11, 2004 and the first day of our Cajun Experience.  While wearing our warm, wet wetsuits as we headed back on our two and a half hour boat ride, we learned that on a boat traveling 20 knots in 40 degree weather your wet suit will, and did, dry out.   This evaporation factor caused Brian Yoshikawa and I to freeze as we motored back to port.  We quickly realized why this company was called Xtreme Fishing Charters.

            After a hot scalding shower all of my promises were quickly forgotten.   After all, we did fly all the way from Hawaii to New Orleans, then drove another 2 hours to Venice or “the end of the earth” as the locals call it.  Dreams of 100 pound Ono and large Ahi were calling us to this destination.   

            Our adventure began as Sterling Kaya, Kalei Hina, Brian Yoshikawa, and myself, Ryan Paik, began our drive to Venice.  The forecast for the next day included marginal windy conditions, with questionable seas.   We were faced with our first dilemma; either stay in New Orleans and party, or drive to “the end of the earth” and pray for good weather.  The vote was unanimous as we headed for Venice.  As the driver, I managed to get us officially lost.  Our savior, Capt. Bill Delabar, phoned us and gave us step-by-step driving directions.  Some service at 10 o’clock at night!  We successfully reached our log cabin trailer and started unloading our van of dive gear.

            The following morning our prayers were answered as we awoke to find that the wind had dropped.  We rushed to our boat a 26 foot Glacier Bay center console catamaran, the X-Factor, where we met Capt. Bill.   We loaded the boat with our gear, lunch, and some poggies ( palu), and began our trek out to the famed “Lump”.  Traveling 23 miles in the Mississippi River then 17 miles off shore, we arrived the lump realizing that the choppy dirty conditions were anything but ideal.   Jumping in we noticed that the water was pretty warm (69-71 degrees).  The visibility was about 20-30 feet with lots of small  bait size tuna darting around.  Thirty pound Blackfin tuna, and Kingfish occasionally passed, but no sign of large game fish. 

After a couple of hours of drifting and chumming I managed to get a nice fat Ono.  I was down on a dive and out of the corner of my eye swam this bloated fish.  It swam very slowly showing no sign of fear.  As it crossed the path where my speargun was pointed, I squeezed the trigger about 10 feet away.  I looked as my Alexander slip tip toggeled behind the fishes gill plate.  The fish took off in a stream of bubbles, yanking my float underwater.  After a couple of strong runs, I was finally able to feel the weight of the fish.   It eventually tired as I subdued it with my knife.  We took some time out to get some underwater pictures and wished that we actually used the video cameras that we brought.  Sterling was in the perfect position but the camera was at the cabin.  The next stop was a couple of oil rigs where Brian passed up a nice 50 Pounder hoping to see a 100 pound fish.  My expectations were high on this trip as I expected to see tons of 70+ pound fish.  To my surprise it would be nothing like a turkey shoot.  When we arrived back to port we were so cold we didn’t even bother weighing the Ono. 

After heading home and freezing we ran into our second dilemma.  Should we use one of Xtremes larger covered boats or stick with the cat.  If we went with the larger boat it traveled at half the speed of our current boat which limited our dive spots.  If we stuck with the cat we would freeze.

            The next day started with the same boat.  Minus a frozen Kalei Hina we loaded up and motored out.  Armed with long underwear, sweat pants, ski pants, rain pants, socks, boots, two sweat shirts, ski jacket, foul weather gear, and my trusty beenie.  I was ready for the cold.  Today’s plan was to go far and check some oil rigs.  Twenty six miles of river and 60 miles of ocean later, we arrived a rig in 5000 feet of water.  Hundred pound tuna were boiling everywhere, a divers dream.  Captain Bill Delabar had led us to the promise land.  Just when we were about to jump in, the oil rig sounded their alarm and ordered our vessel to leave.  We tried to bargain with them, but it was no use.  It was a heart breaker as I watched the fish break water as we slowly and sadly left.

            Half an hour later we arrived another rig, but it looked dead.  No birds no bait.  Jumping in the water with a belt stringer full of poggies, Sterling and I lazily loaded our guns, still with images of the previous rig in our minds.  Not even two minutes in the water and a school of Mahi greet us.  While loading his 2^nd rubber on his Tuna gun Sterling shoots and lands a nice Mahi, and swims it to the boat.  Drifting along I meet up with Brian and he motions to me that he just saw a tuna.  Slowly I start my descent slowly kicking up current from the sinking poggies.  Dropping  down to about 25 feet I level off , to my surprise a large tuna appears.  It boldly swims with it’s pectoral fins spread cruising like a jumbo jet.  The tuna begins to veer away.  One grunt and it’s attention and it’s course is now directed to me.   As it glides closer I force myself to hold off until the fish is about 12 feet away.  I squeeze the trigger,  I watch as my 5/16 shaft penetrate this short and fat fish.  Returning to the surface I catch my homemade Katayama divyncel float just as my 100 foot bungee stretches to its limits.  Now the real fight begins.  Like most tunas this fish was straight down. I began the slow process of treading water and pulling up my fish.  While pulling I remember thinking “I hope this thing is at least a hundred pounds because it was so short”.  I kept on looking up as we were drifting closer to the oil rig, to my surprise we were so close to the rig that there were a couple dozen workers that were cheering me on.  Luckily for me I had Brian there coaching me.  I had no granny clip on my float so to make the fight easier Brian suggested that I take off my weight belt.  Ten minutes went by then about 100 feet down I finally saw color.  I was saddened to see that the yellow sickles were nowhere near it’s tail.  On a Yellowfin Tuna I use its sickles to determine its size underwater.

 As I pulled this fish in everything was going good until I reached the end of my bungee and started to handline the nylon coated cable.  I struggled to pull the fish to me because the nylon coated shooting cable kept slipping through the brand new cold water gloves that I wore.  It was very frustrating to see my short tuna hardly even kicking but one flinch made the shooting line peel through my fingers in these gloves with no grip.  Three attempts of having my shaft in my hand and the tuna six feet away I realized that these gloves were a wrong choice.  After the third attempt  and the fish already on it’s side swimming weakly, Brian asked me if I wanted a back up shot.  At this point were were drifting very close to the oil rig and we had not ascertained that this fish was indeed a bigeye tuna.  Thinking that this was a yellow fin I agreed and Brian second shot the fish. The gaff shot worked as I could easily grasp my shaft.  He took his shaft out as I grabbed the tuna by the gills.  Now realizing that this fish was easily over a hundred pounds, and possibly a Bigeye Tuna.  I took out my knife and began to bleed the fish as I touched its’ tail the fish leapt out of the water and slammed down on me.  I held on realizing that this was my biggest tuna speared.  The workers on the oil rig started cheering as an even larger audience watched as we lifted the beast into the boat.

  As we drifted away from the rig the workers motioned for us to come back and hold up the fish so they could take some pictures.  As we posed with the fish one worker spotted 2 big bull Mahi and Brian and I ended the day with 2 nice Mahi’s which we gave to the workers aboard the rig.

            When we reached the harbor we just made it as biologist Brett Falterman positively identified it as a bigeye tuna by it’s striated liver.  Weighmaster Michael Ballay officially weighed it in at 195.60 pounds.   The largest Big eye tuna taken by spear while freediving.

            The next day the five of us including the now thawed out Kalei made one last dive.  It was a fun day finding a small rubbish with lots of mahi and ono.       

             This trip was a great trip.  The waters off Venice is unreal and you never know whats going to swim by.  Captain Al Walker runs a great business that really is Xtreme.

This trip wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t Have Captain Bill Delabar as our Capt..  Bill goes the extra mile for his clients whether it’s giving directions to our cabin, Or finding us the right cold weather gear, cutting poggies all day long, Putting us on the big fish, or just hanging out with us to make us feel at home.  Xtreme Fishing Charters ‘ Capt. Bill is “da man”.

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