About 15 years ago a fisherman of Hatteras NC got wrapped in the leader and a bluefin took him overboard. He was alone. Hours later another boat pulled alongside the empty circling boat, to discover what had happened. The rod was still in a holder in the gunwale. The drowned fisherman and he tuna were reeled in together.
True Story.
It was my good friend and fishing buddy,
Capt.Bruce Bartlett of Sandy Creek, NY.
thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/35293-ncfisherman-dies-after-tuna-pulls-him-in.html
He was fishing out of Moorhead City, NC
and was supposed to be fishing with a
friend who couldn't make it so Bruce went out alone.
He fought the fish to the boat, put the rod in the holder
and threw the harpoon and missed, pulled the harpoon back and
threw again, and hit the tuna but the harpoon line which was now
scattered loose on the deck wrapped his ankle
and hauled him over the side to drown.
He had called another boat's captain on the radio to announce
he had hooked up, while the other boat had hooked up also, and after
landing their fish, couldn't raise him on the radio, and pulled
alongside to investigate, and found him at the end of the
harpoon line along with the expired tuna.
Never forget getting the phone call from his wife, and later
talking with his twin boys about their dad's death.
Tragic story.
When ever we went out for tuna, Bruce was always a stickler for
stowing harpoon lines in the bucket for safety and keeping
the deck clear of loose lines in which one could become entangled,
along with keeping a sharp knife handy for cutting lines.
Because he was fishing alone handling the rod, the tuna, the harpoon,
etc. he became task saturated and skipped re-stowing the harpoon
line in the safety bucket, and he got wrapped up.
Heck of a way to go out.
Tight lines Bruce.
walleyed
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