PORTLAND, Maine (WJW) — Two teenagers reeled in the catch of the summer on a recent fishing trip.
Martin Scanlan, 16, says he and his 17-year-old friend went fishing in Portland, Maine earlier this month. The pair hit the water for a day of fun when they unexpectedly caught a 700-pound bluefin tuna.
“I was with a friend on a smaller boat, not the one we usually use to commercial fish for bluefin, and I was just with him for the day, maybe messing around and trying to catch a shark, not knowing that we would hook into a 700-pound tuna,” Scanlan told sister station WJW.
He says they left the dock early in the morning, around 5 a.m., and finally found the perfect fishing spot around 7 o’clock.
The teens put out their rods and about an hour and half later, they had hooked the fish.
“It almost ripped the rod holder out of the boat,” Scanlan explained. “We ended up fighting the tuna for seven hours before landing it.”
The boys were met by a larger boat which was used to haul in the fish. The tuna was too large to fit in the 25-foot boat the teens had journeyed out in.
Scanlan says the fish ended up being 110 inches long and weighing about 700 pounds.
After getting it back to shore, the teens sold the tuna to a company in the Portland area.