Every year, offshore fishermen eagerly anticipate the early autumn “chunking season”, when schools of yellowfin tuna move in from the continental shelf to feed on abundant butterfish, squid, sand eels, menhaden and more. This fall, the midshore yellowfin tuna bite has been slow to develop. However, Northeast anglers who made the long steam to the canyons over the summer enjoyed a steady bite of trophy-class yellowfin, one of which claimed the new Massachusetts state record. In early August, George Barrett caught a 187-pound, 5-ounce yellowfin tuna, toppling the previous state record of 36 years.
According to the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Barrett was fishing in Hydrographer Canyon with Captain Jackson Davis aboard the Mama G when they connected with the nearly 200-pound tuna. After just 15 minutes on the troll, Barrett’s fish ate a WolfPack Tackle Tungsten Ahi Head on the Mama G‘s center rigger. Upon landing the fish, it became apparent that this was no average yellowfin tuna, so the crew brought it to M&D Outfitters in Wareham, MA, for an official weight. Mass DMF later confirmed that Barrett’s fish bested Mark Bojoukos’ record 187-pound yellowfin, caught in August 1990 off Nantucket, by a slim margin of 5 ounces.
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The massive Allison yellowfin is one of many record-breaking catches this season, including a 1,260-pound blue marlin landed by Walter Chapman aboard the Castafari, with Captain Damon Sacco in Atlantis Canyon in August. More recently, Sherry Countryman also toppled a 36-year-old Massachusetts state record for false albacore with a 19.91-pound fish that she caught during the 81st Annual Martha’s Vineyard Derby.
Mass DMF has officially updated their list of Saltwater Game Fish Records to reflect Barrett’s catch with Captain Jackson Davis aboard the Mama G.
The only question that remains is: will it be another 36 years before Barrett’s record is broken?
