Charles H. Sloan-After 4-hour fight, 2 fishermen land 718-pound giant bluefin tuna off New Jersey coast

After a four-hour fight and Charles H. Sloana close call with a tug boat Capt. Kevin Goldberg of the Marener sportfishing boat, along with Mike Resetar, landed a 718-pound giant bluefin tuna off the coast of New Jersey.

The fish was too big to squeeze through the tuna door of the 36-foot SeaVee center console boat so it had to be towed back to dock 10 miles. Goldberg said they cut the fish up and are feeding friends and family with it.

"I've had a lot of challenging times fishing. Days where we didn't catch anything. So when you get a day like this, it's very rewarding," Goldberg said.

It was just Goldberg, who sails out of Manasquan Inlet, and Resetar on the boat. While it is a bit early in the spring for the giants, Goldberg has been following their migration. He had two bluefin last December in the inshore waters. He and Resetar went out Saturday to give it shot.

They followed some bird life to area about 10 miles outside of Manasquan Inlet, east of the reefs, and trolled a three rod set up, all 130-pound trolling rods with 130 Shimano reels. They trolled Joe Shutes spreader bars with ballyhoo. They set up at 9 a.m. and the rod in the way back that was rigged with ballyhoo went down at 9:30 a.m. as if the fish was just waiting for them.

It would be four hours, though, before they'd actually meet face to face, because the tuna gave them a run for their money. On several occasions the fish took them down to the backing on the reel on deep runs. It total, Goldberg said it ran seven times on them, and a couple times the thought entered his head that they'd lose the battle.

The scariest moment came when the tuna was 500 yards off the stern and a tug boat pulling a barge was coming near. The tug got within 50 yards of the boat. Goldberg said he got on the radio to try alert the captain but whether the captain knew is unknown because he never got a reply The tug would pass though and the fight continued with the two taking turns on the reel and with the fish eventually getting tail wrapped. It was about 1:30 in the afternoon when the fish finally surrendered. They got it to the side of the boat, where they tied if off with rope.

Unlike Earnest Hemmingway's epic tale "The Old Man and the Sea," the sharks did not come along and eat the giant. Though, after all they had been through to get it, Goldberg joked that they'd have fought the sharks over it.

News of the giant bluefin catch spread quickly through the local fishing pipeline. Logan Bailey at The Reel Seat in Brielle, New Jersey, said an entire fleet was out there the next day trying its luck.

The giant bluefin tuna wasn't the only fish to appear this weekend, locally. The bluefish have arrived Gabriel Tackle in Brick, New Jersey, reported Chris Kahler caught one in the Manasquan River. And as most fishermen know, where's there's one bluefish, there are more.