A New Hampshire fisherman caught the state\u2019s largest bluefin tuna weighing over 1,100 pounds \u2014 smashing a record that had stood for more than a decade.<\/p>\n
Brandon McGirl was hoping to reel in anything when he boarded the Out of Line, a Savage Charters NH boat captained by Jamie Savage, on Saturday for an overnight fishing trip out of Rye Harbor on the New Hampshire Seacoast, WMUR reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very difficult conditions to try and fish. It was a little bit rougher than we were hoping for,\u201d McGirl told the outlet.<\/p>\n Brandon McGirl and Captain Jamie Savage of Savage Charters NH landed a 1,116-pound bluefin tuna in New Hampshire, smashing the state record. ABC\/WHAS11<\/p>\n After hours on the open water \u2014 with almost nothing to show for their effort \u2014 the crew was gearing up to call it a night when, out of nowhere, McGirl\u2019s reel began clicking.<\/p>\n \u201cThey never come when you expect them to come,\u201d McGirl said.<\/p>\n The crew chased the fish for about a mile before finally getting it alongside the boat during the grueling struggle.<\/p>\n With no way to get it on deck, they towed the fish back toward the harbor, where they lifted the beast from the water.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lifted it out of the water and immediately knew it was way bigger than what we thought and bigger than anything either of us had seen before,\u201d Savage said.<\/p>\n The catch turned out to be a monster bluefin tuna that tipped the scales at 1,116 pounds \u2014 more than 150 pounds heavier than the previous New Hampshire record, set in 2013, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n The men chased the fish for about a mile before finally getting it alongside the boat during the grueling struggle. ABC\/WHAS11<\/p>\n McGirl could barely believe what they had reeled in.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you tuna fish for long time, to catch a 1,000-pound fish, is, I mean, it\u2019s something that you dream of,\u201d he told the outlet.<\/p>\n A photo of the catch shows the tuna nearly as long as both men are tall, so big it barely fits in the boat.<\/p>\n The record-breaking catch even drew congratulations from Gov. Kelly Ayotte the next day.<\/p>\n \u201cNow THAT is a catch,\u201d Ayotte wrote on Facebook<\/a>, sharing a link to WMUR\u2019s report.<\/p>\n The catch turned out to be a monster bluefin tuna that tipped the scales at 1,116 pounds \u2014 more than 150 pounds heavier than the previous New Hampshire record, set in 2013. Facebook\/Bikes & Bites<\/p>\n While the meat of the fish will be sold, the tuna\u2019s tail will stay behind at the harbor, a souvenir of the record-setting day. ABC\/WHAS11<\/p>\n The catch also came close to a national mark. The largest bluefin tuna on record in US waters weighed 1,142 pounds, 12 ounces, and was caught off Block Island, Rhode Island, by J. Dempsey in September 1981 \u2014 about 27 pounds more than McGirl\u2019s fish, according to On The Water<\/a>.<\/p>\n The tuna will be sold and could be shipped as far as Japan, but its tail will stay behind at the harbor, a souvenir of the record-setting day, WMUR reported.<\/p>\n