Record Yellowfin
The IGFA announced last night that Guy Yocom’s 427-pound yellowfin tuna caught last September south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, was approved as the new all-tackle record for the species, supplanting a 405-pound fish taken in 2010 by Mike Livingston.
Now, in addition to becoming a world-record holder, Yocom could be well on his way to winning $1 million.
The California angler was entered in Mustad Hooks‘ “Hook A Million” world-record contest, catching the big fish on a 39943BLN 4x Demon Perfect Circle Hook while chunking some 100 miles south of Cabo aboard his boat, El Suertudo (Spanish for “the lucky one”).
“Guy now has to come to us and present us with a copy of the (IGFA) certificate, which is what’s required by our contest rules,” Jeff Pierce, sales manager for Mustad, tells Sport Fishing. “Then the paperwork starts with the company we insured it through.”
The crew was specifically fishing for a record tuna, and they picked a good place to do it. In 2012 alone, an estimated 432-pounder was taken in the same general vicinity off Mexico in January, followed by a 427.9-pound fish three months later. Most recently, after Yocom’s catch, John Petruescu caught the largest yellowfin ever taken on rod-and-reel, a 445-pounder that he landed this month aboard the long-range vessel Excel.
None of those fish, of course, were submitted to IGFA for record purposes.
But Yocom and crew had all their “I”s dotted and “T”s crossed, according to the IGFA, which reviewed the submission via committee over the past 90 days.
“Breaking the all-tackle yellowfin tuna record within two years of Mike Livingston is really remarkable,” says Jack Vitek, IGFA world records coordinator. “Prior to Livingston’s catch in November of 2010, that record had stood for 33 years.”
Now, the waiting game will last just a tad longer to see if Yocom’s fish also nets him a cool million dollars.
