![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/matt-ringot-and-his-friend-brady-smith-shortly-after-hooking-QD4HSYRORFA4JHTTNW355PAHBY.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA fisherman spent 90 minutes battling a massive tuna from a jet ski off the Bay of Plenty coast and likely would not have landed it without an unlikely assist from a mako shark.<\/p>\n
The Southern bluefin tuna, estimated at more than 100kg before a shark bit off its tail, was hooked off Waihau Bay after a 45km trip to offshore fishing grounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely my biggest catch,\u201d Matt Ringot told 1News. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor tuna, it\u2019s a big fish. At this time of year, they\u2019ve been catching 40 to 60 kilos, so 100 kilos is pretty big.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ringot, a French national who has lived in New Zealand for a decade, launched in darkness at around 5.30am on Friday before reaching fishing grounds and setting lines just after sunrise. He hooked the fish about 8.30am.<\/p>\n
Fighting a tuna of that size from a jet ski with no fighting chair, no outriggers, and breaking waves around him pushed Ringot to his limits almost immediately.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m holding the rod as much as I can\u2026 there\u2019s waves coming in and I have to manage to not fall off as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Matt Ringot and his friend Brady Smith shortly after hooking the massive tuna. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n
His friend Brady Smith, who was fishing nearby on another jet ski, quickly put his own rods away when it became clear Ringot had hooked something special.<\/p>\n
For the next 90 minutes, Smith shadowed Ringot’s jet ski, helping coordinate radio communications with nearby vessels and providing support as sea conditions deteriorated.<\/p>\n
“As soon as I hooked up, he stayed with me and didn’t keep fishing. He really helped me out so much with managing everything on the radio with the other boats and stuff,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him.”<\/p>\n
Cramps forced Ringot to attach a fighting harness one-handed while keeping tension on the line.<\/p>\n
He rested the rod across the handlebars and used the swell itself as leverage \u2014 rising on each wave to lift the fish, then reeling on the way back down.<\/p>\n
A 90-minute battle in rough seas took a dramatic turn when a mako shark bit off the tuna’s tail. (Source: French Adrift\/YouTube) (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n
After more than an hour of fight, Ringot realised something unusual was happening.<\/p>\n
“The rod was doing some sort of short vibrations and I realised, ‘OK, there\u2019s a shark’,” he said.<\/p>\n
A mako shark had taken interest in the hooked tuna, eventually biting off its tail.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just took the tail off, which basically took the motor of the fish off. Without the shark, I don\u2019t think I would have ever been able to land the fish.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Ringot gaffed the fish beside the jet ski, the shark returned and tried to take it entirely.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mako shark comes under the jet ski and pulls the fish down\u2026 like a dog with its toy.”<\/p>\n
The tug of war between man and fish lasted about 20 to 30 seconds before the shark released its grip.<\/p>\n
![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/matt-ringot-says-the-967kg-tuna-is-by-far-the-biggest-catch-LLOHWIJL2FCEFCEE7STM2P3HFY.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Matt Ringot says the 96.7kg tuna is by far the biggest catch he’s ever hauled in. (Source: Matt Ringot)<\/p>\n
Unable to haul the fish aboard in worsening seas, Ringot called for assistance over the radio. Nearby boats responded and eventually secured the tuna after several attempts.<\/p>\n
“If two guys were struggling to pull it in, there’s no way I could have done it myself,” he said.<\/p>\n
The fish was transferred between vessels in heavy swells and brought ashore.<\/p>\n
Game fishing from jet skis remained relatively niche in New Zealand, particularly for large species such as Southern bluefin tuna.<\/p>\n
Ringot thought the fish could be a record for a jet ski catch in New Zealand waters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is the biggest tuna caught off a jet ski in New Zealand, unless something else hasn\u2019t been recorded.”<\/p>\n
The entire encounter was filmed and will feature in a longer documentary-style video on Ringot\u2019s YouTube channel French Adrift.<\/p>\n
However, he said a key motivation in sharing the footage was to highlight the risks involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something you should take lightly. You should never do this alone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are lots of things that could go wrong\u2026 I\u2019ve been extremely lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/matt-ringot-says-the-967kg-tuna-is-by-far-the-biggest-catch-XP2YTAUNQRDOBI53HYJR5DDKAQ.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Matt Ringot says the 96.7kg tuna is by far the biggest catch he’s ever hauled in. (Source: Matt Ringot)<\/p>\n
Once ashore, the tuna was processed locally, yielding dozens of portions of vacuum-sealed meat that Ringot has shared with friends and family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had about 30 bags of red meat\u2026 I\u2019ve been giving some away and keeping some,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI’ll be having sashimi every day until I run out.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A fisherman spent 90 minutes battling a massive tuna from a jet ski off the Bay of Plenty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":489449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,1756,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-489448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-tauranga-bay-of-plenty","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}