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After several days filled with hype and speculation, as the Excel advanced toward San Diego with a monstrous yellowfin tuna aboard, the fish was weighed Sunday morning and officially became the largest known yellowfin ever caught on rod and reel.
About 300 people were on hand at Fisherman's Landing as the Excel, which had been at sea for 16 days, pulled into port just after dawn. They cheered as a fish that had been estimated to weigh about 460 pounds, while still on the vessel, tipped the dock scale at 445 pounds. |
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Onlookers also cheered for John Petruescu, the angler who caught the whopper during his first long-range fishing excursion to the giant tuna grounds, deep in Mexican waters.
Before Petruescu's catch, at remote Hurricane Bank after a two-hour fight, a 427.9-pound yellowfin caught last April off Puerto Vallarta had been the largest.
"People on the boat were telling me they've been fishing on these long-range trips for 20 or 30 years and have never caught a fish like this," said Petruescu, 33, of San Diego. "All I knew after catching it was that this fish was big." |
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