Teens reel in 700-pound bluefin tuna off coast of Maine

PORTLAND, Maine — A group of three teens fishing landed a whopper of a fish tale after landing a 700-pound bluefin tuna off the coast of Maine. 

Friends Martin Scanlan, 16, Griffin Buckwalter, 16, and Wyatt Morse, 17, fought more than seven hours to land the mighty fish July 1, the Bangor Daily News reported.

“It’s rare to catch these big fish,” Morse said. “It’s like you’re catching a different species. Their power is crazy. We had the motor up and the fish was pulling a 24-foot boat sideways at 2 mph. That’s a strong fish.”

They left the dock around 5 a.m. and found the perfect spot about two hours after setting out, WJW reported. A couple hours later they hooked the tuna. The teens worked in shifts to land it. 

“It was brutal. I had time to take a nap during the fight, woke up, and they were still fighting it,” Buckwalter said. “I ate some food, had some lunch, and I’m just hanging out, watching these guys work their butts off.”

Once the fish finally tired and they were able to reel it in, they realized they were going to have trouble cramming the 9-foot long fish onto their 25-foot boat. 

Scanlan's dad came out in a bigger boat and they were able to get the fish aboard, then sold it for about $2,000.

“Wyatt was saying, ‘There’s a million ways to lose it, but only one way to land it.’” Buckwalter said.

Cox Media Group