Unbelievable! A kayaker in North Carolina caught a 136-pound bluefin tuna. I once caught a 5-pound smallmouth while in a float tube and the bass pulled me all over the river. I can’t imagine catching a fish that huge from a 12-foot kayak.
Stefan Turko was in Kitty Hawk and could see tuna boiling in the water just offshore. Several anglers had lost tuna while fishing on Jennette’s Pier, so Turko shoved off in his kayak and hooked up – four times. The first three broke off but the 4th fish stayed on the line long enough for Turko to tire it out and haul it up on the beach to the amazement of dozens of spectators.
Turko had brought a 5-gallon bucket with him, tied with heavy rope to the rear of his kayak. When he hooked the tuna, he put the bucket overboard, filling it with water.
“I was also lucky because there was an offshore wind blowing, and the fish headed shallow into the wind and toward land,” Turko explained. “Towing me, the kayak, and the bucket wore it down pretty fast.”
Later that afternoon, the fish weighed 136 pounds and measured 69 inches in length. And he caught it from a kayak!
Virginia Saltwater
Saltwater fishing is on fire in Virginia waters. The black drum bite has been phenomenal with catches coming from the surf of the Eastern Shore and Sandbridge and into the bay off Cape Charles. Red drum are also getting I on the action as they school near the islands along the tunnel.
Puppy drum catches are steady in all the inlets, and with warming waters, the speckled trout bite is now on again.
There has been a noticeable increase in tautog catches, and sheepshead are now appearing in coolers. Marsh crabs and cut blue crabs are the preferred baits for both species, now feeding on structures like the CBBT. Flounder, too, are biting in the inlets and coastal bays on the Eastern Shore. This year is predicted to be a good one for flounder.
Croakers and spot have yet to start biting, but they are in the bay and heading up the tributaries. Two more weeks and that bite should begin.
