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Slappy · #16 11-14-2009, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe R

just tellin it like it is. do a little searching online - the story gets more and more interesting. 160lb tuna from a yak?? that thing would still be pulling him if he did it fair and square.

I don't know what you read or saw, but I haven't seen anything to suggest anything like your other post. Sticking to known facts is a good thing and if you have those, post'em!

Why would it be impossible to land a big tuna from a yak? Have you yak fished? It would be a major tow, but you would only have to outlast the fish...

TomTero · #17 11-14-2009, 03:37 PM

Based on everything I've read, he paddled out there by himself, hooked the fish by himself and brought it back to shore by himself. There are those who fish from kayaks using support boats but this guy does not seem to be one of them.

I am more curious about his kayak skills and equipment. Does he know how to roll and self-rescue if he falls out? I assume he does and is a skilled paddler. If not then he is really playing with fire.

I'd also like to know if he carries an EPIRB and whatever other safety equipment he carries.

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss him as a nut as some I know have. I admire him for pushing the envelope and taking it to an extreme. I use to think I was pushing it by paddling my canoe out to the cut at Brewster Flats in the middle of the night but this guy is on a whole different level.

TomTero · #18 11-23-2009, 07:21 AM

Article in NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/sp...g.html?_r=1&hp

fatkenny · #19 11-23-2009, 10:08 AM

Quote:

He is a hero at bait shops up and down Cape Cod. On fishing blogs, a few grumblers call him a dangerous idiot.

Some people hunt whales and narwhal from kayaks. I am not impressed.

Slappy · #20 11-23-2009, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatkenny

Some people hunt whales and narwhal from kayaks. I am not impressed.

Check the regs. They closed the season on them.

swirlnbump · #21 11-23-2009, 12:30 PM

Just curious....on page 3 of todays NYT article is a photo of said hunter and his kayak. Where one would have to post his MA reg. #'s is the name of his boat 'Fortitude'. Does that constitute as a legal Reg. #? Is posting your Reg# different for Kayaks?

On another note: Is it sporting in the true sense of angling to hook a fish and have it drag you around until it dies?

Hunt it, hook it and catch it in the shortest amount of time. Better for the fish if you release it, better for the meat if you keep it.

I question this man's motives and his fortitude.

Bob Parsons · #22 11-23-2009, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slappy

Check the regs. They closed the season on them.

Eskimos are stilled allowed a quota on them. But I don't think the kayak is the vessel of choice any more.

swirlnbump · #23 11-23-2009, 02:19 PM

Just noticed NYT pic is from the stern of the boat. What a clown...I'll take my sour grapes and skidaddle....

TomTero · #24 11-23-2009, 02:22 PM

Wow, the criticism here is telling. Given the nature of the task, his deal is pretty much a one and done thing, meaning he hooks one fish and that's it for the day. This guy does infinitely less damage than anyone else going after tuna.

If everything he says is true then this guy is the real deal. He takes the necessary safety precautions, goes after it and doesn't make himself an unnecessary burden on anyone else. I admire him a lot--I think he's a badass.

Onshore · #25 11-23-2009, 02:50 PM

[QUOTE=TomTero;277661]Wow, the criticism here is telling. QUOTE]

I agree with you Tom. The guy seems to be the real deal. I think the critics are just envious of
him. They woudn't dare do it, so anyone who does it must be crazy.

Didn't they say that about the Wright Brothers, Lindberg, Edison and a few other American pioneers of new ideas ?

framer · #26 11-23-2009, 05:56 PM

Now if he had used fly gear...

"not for nuthin', Tony... I'm just sayin..." *

* Christopher, "The Sopranos"

striblue · #27 11-23-2009, 11:43 PM

Letting a 160 pound tuna tow you around for hours until it goes belly up? Tying it to the yak, making sure it is still far enough, and towing it to shore...No, not impressed either and certainly not envious. After reading the article sounds like an over blown ego to me. But wait.. we are going after 400 ponders next. But a very manly man... and will not reveal "secrets"... so his records remain intact...me, me, me, I, I, I, My , My , My.... But there is a follow up report from the Chatham Squire...."... so there I was, all alone.... with a crazed 160 pound tuna or maybe it was 400 pounds...I knew I was in trouble when it looked at me with those big eyes...like, like...it was challenging me... ya I was scared but I was too afraid to be afraid, ladies..... but that was when I felt really ALIVE..., by the way are there any reporters around?" sorry. just an opinion from.....Bond, James Bond.

Go Fish · #28 11-24-2009, 07:47 AM

This guy has a pair of brass ones...that is for sure. It is not my intention to diminish hes feat, but, I think striblue is onto something.

It has long been my contention that people who participate in "extreme" human tasks fall into two catagories: Those who do it for the pure love of what they are doing, and those who do it because the recognition they recieve for doing it is what they really want.

I formulated this hypothesis back in the late 80's and early 90's when "extreme" skiing was all the rage. The guys like Glen Plake and Scott Schmidt were certifiable bad asses. In the skiing community they became quite famous. But, if you went to places like Kirkwood, Squaw Valley, Crested Butte, Jackson Hole or any bit of big mountian backcountry terrain you became keenly aware that there were plenty of unknown skiiers, sporting duct taped parkas, riding on 10 year old gear that could ski on one leg better than the famous guys.

The same is true of our sport. For every amazing feat of fishing prowess we read about on the internet or that makes it into the news paper there are 10 more that have been executed by better fishermen under more extreme conditions...they don't care it we know about it because all they need is to know that they accomplished the task.

Don't forget, back in the day, dudes used to row out in leaky wooden boats and hand line giants...the only people they botherd telling were the buyers at the dock.

Perch · #29 11-24-2009, 08:44 AM

Well, here’s my read. I don’t think he’s crazy or even foolhardy. You don’t have to go out that far at Race Point. Two years ago I hooked and lost a big tuna 100 yards from shore. Pick the right day, and fishing them from a yak is no more dangerous than bouncing through a rip in a power boat. A tuna tows you out five miles, so what? I salute this guy. Well done!

TomTero · #30 11-24-2009, 09:07 AM

My sense is that he did not seek out the publicity, it found him. He went to the Goose to see if he got the record. It was probably the Goose who alerted the Cape Cod Times or whoever it was that made that little video---from there it went viral and the NYT picked it up and pursued the story. I've also heard from a good source that he did not want publicity so others would not try to do the same thing and paddle out there unprepared safety-wise.