Record Mexico Tuna Catch Could Fetch $1 Million Fred Swegles - OC Register
go to original October 10, 2012

Dana Point fisherman Guy Yocom and his mates hope the 427-pound yellowfin, caught on a Mustad hook, wins a $1 million prize from the company. (Greg Distefano)

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico - One fish, one million bucks?

A Dana Point fisherman and a San Clemente skipper are hoping that the 427-pound yellowfin tuna they caught on September 18th in Mexico is a world record, eligible for a $1 million prize.

Greg DiStefano, skipper of the sportfishing boat El Suertudo, said the weight was recorded at Cabo San Lucas and has been submitted to the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA).

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DiStefano said the current record is 405 pounds, and if the new record is confirmed, fisherman Guy Yocom's catch could earn $1 million offered by Mustad, the manufacturer of the hook that caught the tuna.

The prize, which required that the fish be caught by September 30, would be paid over 50 years at $20,000 per year.

DiStefano anticipates that confirmation from the IGFA will take roughly 90 days.

DiStefano said the crew of El Suertudo, which in Spanish means "the lucky guy," was chumming about 180 miles south of the tip of Baja California when the yellowfin took the bait.

It took Yocom about 50 minutes to land the tuna, which was measured at 88 inches long from the nose to the inside of the tail and had a girth of 63¼ inches.

"We probably got at least 200 pounds of filets out of it, probably a little more," DiStefano told the OC Register. "We brought a lot of it home and gave a lot of it away down there."

Read more at The OC Register

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